By Peter Agengre
The Member of Parliament for Nabdam in the Upper East Region, Dr. Mark Kurt Nawaane has been advocating for a long lasting free treatment for people suspected to be suffering from meningitis. According to him, many families are unable to immediately afford to pay for treatment when the emergency requires same citing poor nutrition, poverty, poor hygiene and poor accommodation as factors that lead to the exacerbations of the cause.
“Another problem that we face as a nation is that most of the patients even after you’ve started the treatment they say they cannot afford the medications. So I am calling on the government of the day that whenever we suspect that there is an outbreak of meningitis, we should declare free treatment for such patients to save lives.” Dr. Nawaane suggested.
A total of 23 suspected cases of meningitis with four deaths have so far been reported in the Upper West Region as at Sunday February 9, 2025. This has left residents live in fear while government is instituting measures to curtail the outbreak.
The MP who is also a medical doctor by profession indicated that most patients do not report the symptoms to health facilities immediately, rather engaging in self-medication. This he said gives opportunity for the infection to spread over to different parts of the body.
“Most of the patients do not report early. They sit in the house and carryout self-medication. But even when they have reported at the hospital, we spend so much time trying to diagnose the disease including going to the laboratory; before you know, there are complications. At some point you need to start the treatment of meningitis especially when the patients starts complaining of headache and vomiting.” Dr. Nawaane told the 1st Deputy Speaker in Parliament Bernard Ahiafor when he took his turn to contribute to a statement made by the MP for Daffiama-Busie-Issa Constituency on the outbreak of the virus in the Upper West Region.
Three districts, namely, Nadowli, Nandom, Jirapa, and Wa, were in an alert phase during the week. Two more new districts (Wa West and Sissala East) reported cases during the week, which brings the number of districts reporting suspected cases to eight (8).
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