A Brief Note On Guinea Worm Eradication ( Group 7 )

Postal 2: Guinea Worm Eradication (Group 7): The condition for the commissioning setting was a supposed guinea worm outbreak that has been reported in three Local Government Areas of Akoko town in Ondo State Nigeria by the State’s Ministry of Health among people aged 6-46 years. Their rationale was based on high density of cases in Ise, Auga-Okemole and Iboropa areas of Akoko local government areas, after WHO had declared Nigeria free of the infection. Based on continuous surveillance and disease notification, it seems guinea worm is a WHO’s notifiable infectious disease, and Nigeria is a party to it. According to WHO 2000), there is a need for immediate action whenever any WHO notifiable diseases is spotted. Hence a stakeholders meeting was held with the locals, government officials and community health workers for immediate Health Needs Assessment. The population profiling data was from national surveys and hospital records. Analysis of data was done, the case was prioritized, procurement done, and prompt intervention followed with full participation of all necessary stakeholders. Effective Monitoring and Evaluation would be carried out quarterly after implementation: this monitoring and evaluation will be done by the commissioners themselves. Strong Points: Looking at the given scenario, a notifiable disease requires an immediate emergency response, since there was a good rationale backing their action. The evidence was also strong as the report was from a trusted