Mr. Donatus Achisiba, Nkoranza North District Director of Health Services, has asked stakeholders in the health sector to support the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) to combat maternal and infant deaths.
He explained that the programme was part of government's efforts towards achieving fourth and fifth millennium goals, which sought the reduction in maternal and child mortalities to the barest level by the year 2015.
Mr. Achisiba was addressing 35 health workers in the district at a day's review meeting at Busunya at the weekend to take stock of their work from July to September this year.
He said that this year's National EPI activities took place from November 12 to 14 on the theme: "Healthier Mothers and Children Make a
Better Ghana".
Mr. Achisiba said the exercise, known as Integrated Maternal and Child Health Campaign, would ensure that nursing mothers take good care of their health and bring up their children in healthy environment.
He said nursing mothers would be given Vitamin 'A' supplement and counselled to enable them take good care of their babies, whilst children aged between 0-5 years would be given vaccines to protect them against childhood diseases.
Mr. Achisiba said a training programme has been initiated for the team supervisors and sub-district coordinators to prepare them for the exercise.
He said the district hoped to exceed the national target of 90 per cent coverage.
Mr. Achisiba called on assembly members, members of unit committees, traditional authorities, religious leaders and teachers as well as the media to sensitize the people on the programme.
Mrs. Eva Agbodo Saku, the District Public Health Nurse, urged health officials and the community-based surveillance volunteers to work diligently to ensure the success of the exercise.
She urged the supervisors to keep accurate records on the exercise and to ensure that all households and public places were covered to capture the group targeted under the programme.