The District Governor Elect of Rotary District 9102 in Africa, Sam Worentetu, said this in Accra yesterday, at the launch of a Ghana Community Network (GCN), a community broadcast medium created to communicate effectively to the public, the need to eradicate polio.

He said the network formed part of efforts to equip the public with adequate information and encourage them to get involved in national immunisation programmes.

He said though polio had no cure, it could be prevented through vaccination and each child needed about 10-15 doses to be protected, hence the need to take immunisation serious.

“From 1996 to date, Ghana had conducted 50 vaccination campaigns against polio with 200,000,000 doses of polio vaccines administered to children less than five years,” he said.

The National Programme Manager, for the Extended Programme on Immunization (EPI) Mr. Emmanuel Bonsu admonished parents to make their children available for immunisation during immunisation days.

He said the years, marked the beginning of Ghana’s series of activities towards the final eradication of poliomyelitis across the world.

Alem mumuni, a poliomyelitis survivor stated that polio was an infectious viral disease that needed to be eradicated to ensure progress in Ghana.

He mentioned Brong-Ahafo, Northern, Western and Eastern regions as some of the difficult regions they had to tackle to achieve the sustainable goal which led to the delay of target to ensure Ghana was polio-free in the year 2000.

He encouraged fellow survivors to take up the mantle to fight polio out.

By Linda Naa Deide Aryeetey