6th annual meeting of the National Onchocerciasis Committees: Accra, 2 - 4th June, 1982

5TH ANNUAI T@EING OF TEIE NATIO.NI\I ONSHOCEACIASIS CCMMIryIEES ACCM. 2-4[EI JUNE. 1qB2 REPIIBTIC OF GHANA soclo-EcoNoMrc IE\IEIo4/trNT 0F oNcri{o-rBffi aJtEAS The Goverrnment of the Republic of Ghana is very much aware of the great contribution the onchocerciasis Control Erogra'trme has road'e toward's the controL and er"ad.ication of onchocerciasis, and. is clete::rrined- to embark on the subsequent settlement and socio-economic clevelopnent of the areas so freed from the d-isease. This first of all necessitated' the establish- roent of the National Onchocerciasis Secretariat (in 197il. Slnce the d.isease has been a ccurplete barrier to agricultural ancl ind'ustrial clevelop- ment, in the rural areas, the Secretariat, following the Ia'nilsat Sr:rvey, has been studying the d.evelolmental potential of the oncho-freed' areast to promote specific developnent activities and to fr.rnction as a co-ordinating body to liaise with all national bod.ies such as the N0RRIP, (Northern Regional Rr:ral Integrated Progra^rme), UnamP (Upper Regional Agricultlral Development Progra,nme), fltSCCU (Fa:mers Services C*p",y) and other technical assi-stance gfoups concerned., toward.s the d'evelopment of the freed' are&s' The Secretariat has also been h-ighlighting the priority develotrxrent activities required. within the area for the benefit of the Gover:cment arrcl potential investors. I}IPORTANCE OT' TIM ZONE The 6ncho-controlled area, now consisting of the Northern and- Upper Regions of Ghana 1j-es in the West African Savannah Zone, between latitudes Bo and 11oN and. longitudes ,fu and. 1%. The Northern Region, being largest region in the cogntry has an area of 7Or18) sq I(m whilst the Upper Region has an area of 27 r7:1g #. Soth regions togetJrer enclose about 14.ryo of the total land area of Ghana. Acc.urcling to the 1!Jo census figures' approxj-nately l8/o ot the total population of Ghana live in these regions. The projected total population for 1!80 are 110{1 |QJL and. ],rO27 1457 fot the Northern and upper Regi-ons respective\y. -2- To confort with Goverrment objective of embarking on an integratecl :r:ral d.evelotrment of the areas so freed. from onchocerciasis vaxious proposals were collected. from relevant bodies in these zones to fo:m an integrar part of a )-Year Develolment plan for the country. These proposals sumtarize the aims and. aspirations of the people as well as the goals and' objectives envj-saged., over the next five years with regard.s to the Zoners resourees together with Central Goverment and. foreigr invest- nents and fr:nd.s. Ihe ultinate aim of integrating the plan of the zone with the national plan is to:- (i) expand the production baso cmensurate with the neeiL to raise the living stantlard.s of the growing population as far as the resources will peraJ.t; (ii) bring about equitable inccme distribution to elininate the extremes between nral and r:rban inccmes; (iii) provide basic essentj.al infrastructr:ral facilities to serve as a spring board. for a future accele::ated. economic d.evelopnent in the northern sector of Ghana. W-ASER NESOI]RCE }E\IEIO}MISIT Ehe problem of water supply in the Oncho Zone and other a^reas in the northerr: sector of the cor:ntry has been a regular feafiire. Most of the seeningly big rivers are seasonal and. d:ry up for half the year. The Goverrnment of Ghana has therefore ad.opted the ldational Water Grid. System of unclertakin€ Distri-ct Uater Supp1y Programe which eventrralJy fit into the natj-onal network. fhis system replaces the fo:mer one of planning uater supply facilities for intlirridual townships separatetrf. ftre Ghana llater and Sewe:uge Corporation has embarked. on several water schemes j-n various places to tap the White Volta and other rj.Vers to supplement the existing water supply systen. DisSrict schemes are also designed to take their sources of supply from med.ir:m-sized. d.ams. In other areas mechanical plmps and boreholes or dug-outs are being iiesignecl and constnrcted. by CIIA and. other agencies to augnent the water supply requlrement of the areas. water projects here aim at supp\ring one groi:ndwater well for every J00 persons. zSOIL RESOURCES Soils in the Zone have developed, mainly from granites and are shallow, coarse-textured and concreti-onary over much of the Northerrr Sector of Ghana. Settlement is heavily concent:oated. on the deeper, fi.ner soils toward.s the eastern and western boundaries. Sheet erosion is seri-ous and. soil conservation measures are being r:nd.ertaken to amest this sitr.ption. Ulost of the fertile valleys and gooti qt:ality 1and. which were unsettled. due to their hearrier soils and the presence of sjmulium flies are gradually being put to good use. The soil in this valley is a verXr fine silt loam and. is highly productive. ACM\rlTIES ACJTICIIITURE: The Agriculttral production in the region has been hindered by the loss of good. arablc land. to onchocerciasis, trypanosmriasis and rapid.ly increasing soil erosj-on. Projects in the zone are complements to the ongoing onchocerciasis erad.ication scheme and assist in arresting soil losses from erosion. Agricultr:re production constitutes the economj-c base of the zone and about BA/o of the total population are sua11 scale fa:mers. The northern sector of the Zone is settled by over 1251000 fa:m fa,roilies. Thj-s zone takes the prld.e of place in cereal crop production in the country and also has a vast potential for oecharrised. agricultr:ral production. With the realisation that there is a positive relationship between agrieultural growth and. a d,efirtite agicultr:raI stimulating policy the embodiment of the d.eveloprnent stratery of the zone with the national l-Year pl61 6.ims at: (i) self-sufficiency in the prod.uction of staple food. crops so that food. is obtained. at reasonable prices and that the population neet their basic nutritional requirements. (U) increasing agricultqral productivity to release and generate sufficient resources for industrial d.evelopment. (i:.i) maki-ng conscious efforts to d.iversify agricultqre. In areas in and. around. the priority plannlng zones annr:aI incremental produetj-on at ful1 d.evelopnent are estiflated. in the orders of 4rO0O tons of miI1et, 121000 tons of yansr 181000 tons of cotton, 111000 tons of groundnuts and 51000 tons of tc'matoes. -4- RICE PRODUCTiON: Rice production ls the most popular agricultr:ra1 activity in the O:cho-freed. zone as well as most areas of the northern sector of the cor:ntry. Rice is intensively cultiirated. and. it is grown under tlvo rnain cultives, nalcely rainfed and irrigated.. Farm sizes range from about 10 io over !00 hectares. ft is plarured in the l-Year Develotrment Plan that by 1985 more than 70rOO0 hectares wouId. have been put to rice cultiyation. Present hectarage is about 551000 and the cultivation of varieties of rice to promote rice production in these areas, the l{est Afri.ca Rice Develolrient Association (WAffiA) f-" embarkeil upon researches on-fa^:mr trial-s and various method.s to find. sr:-itable soil types and improved. seed.s in Tono and Vea. At Tono the IEI 2BB5 variety produces the highest yieId. about J.12 tonnes/hectare. In other areas such as [aroale and Zuo, WA.R]A has identified. the 'qariety 4418 as the highest yield.er. GRCTIINDNUT: [o process the gror:nd.rnt produced in this area the Ta^nale Vegetable 0i1 l{i}Is processes 21800 tonnes of gfor:ndnut produced in the area per &rrrurrro To promote increased. production therefore, the Ministry of Agriculti:re, the Ghana Ind.ustrial Holding Corporation, the Agricultural Develolment Bank and the Ghana Ccmercial Bank are assisting gror:nd'nut fa:mers with crddit facilities and tractor senrices. Or[rER CRQPS: Other crops grourn in the area includ.e yams, sorghurn and. milIet. INDUSIRIAI CROPSe fhe principal ind.ustrial crops grow:l are cotton and. kenaf. Ihe Cotton Develotrment 3oard. has its head.quarters in Tamale. Si.nce la72 the crop has had. a very rapid. increase both in yieId. anii hectarage cultj-vated.. Eh:is 3oard, produces \ff/o of the nationts lint cotton requirement and. thls is nostly grown in the freed. %otl1o Plans are afoot to institute research and. extension services to significantly boost up cotton production. It is plan:red that scmne 2BrJ50 or more hectares of cotton should be wrder cultivation W 1985 to feed the textile factories in southern Ghana. Kerraf ribbons useci by the Fibre -5- Factory at Kr:nasi as substitute for bags for cocoa, coffee, rice, w,ize Tanale, Yendi, Damango and. WaLewa1e. ],IVESTOCK: jute for the productj-on of fibre and. gror:ndrruts are also grovrn in Cattle, sheep and goats constj-tute the bulk of the zoners livestock. livestoek Stud. Fa::srs are being set up at Pong Tamale, Daboya and. 3o1e. [he Sank of Ghana, Northern Region Development Corporation (NRDC) and the Mamprusi Trad.:itional Cor:ncil trave jointly established. the Wulugu Livestock Ccmpany to rmd.ertake cormiercial Ii-vestock production and. the ranch will cover over z|0r000 hectares when completed.. INRIGATION PRO]ECTS: The need. for i:rigation to cor:nteract the d.efects of a sing:1e rainy season and e:ratic patterns of rainfall d.istribution in the zone has aroused. the awareness of the Goverrrment of Ghana. Atrnrt from such large dams as Vea and Tono which have contributed tremend.ously to the agricultural upliftment of the area, there are over 220 sma1l dams and. tlug-outs scattered. over the freed. zorLe. Constmctional works are in progress on the med.ium- sized. 22 million cedis Sontanga lrrigation Project which is errpected. to imigate 11000 hectares of 1and. for the cultirration of various crops. tr'easibility stud.ies have been made for the constnrctj-on of other dams on the Wh-lte Vo1ta and at Tammne near 3awku. fhe l:rigation Developnent Authority (fnn) is largely responsible for these dams in the river valleys whilst the Ghara. and Gerran Agricultrrral Develotrment Progra^me (CCnm) embarks on srnall d.a.nr and. dug-out constnrction in areas where the rainfall pattern is more improved.. lhe IDA also allocates the land. to loca1 farmers fcr sma1I fees and also organizes the farmers through extension services and. inputs. In i:=igatecl rralleys rj-ce is grown whj-lst along the slopes vegetables, rne.ize, groundnut and. sorghum are cultirrated. Other proposed. projects to be undertaken as fi-nancj-a} resources and. other inputs pe:curit are 3 - (i) The Mtraha koject located at the Confluence of the Wh:ite and Black Voltas to irrigate lr20o hectares of land for rice, cotton and. soya bean. 1ii) The fuessa"n hoject on the Tamale-Yendi road" to i:mrigate 1r2OO hectares of land. for rice and vegetables. -6- ROADS: Construction of feeder roads in this zone has not keBt trnce with the need. to open up the area for agricultural d.evelopment. The arears road. network is suffj-cient in qr:antity but deficient in qr:a1iff. Ihe area south of the priority planning zone for exa"mple has about 400 lam of pnimary road.s, 1,251 kilcmetres of secondary road.s, 400 lon of feed.er road.s with about 400 Iq of other feed,er road.s under constnrction. The main constraints have been the j-nad.equate eontractural capacity, la.ck of equipent, lack of chlppings, ir:ad.equate fi:nd.s for road. maintenance and. a lack of coord.ination between agencies of road. naintenance. In the !-Year Pla,n it j-s envisaged. that much emphasis will be pla,ced on roacl constnrction and maintenance. Roads }inking Fr:nbisi-Wiasi, Dand.ema-Funibisi, Sand.ema-Chlana and. other places are to be regravelled to facilitate the transportation difficulties in the area. Pla,ns are also afoot to improve part of the route through Daboya to Fr:nbisi Valley ancl the Nabr.urgu-Yabaga road. which j.s to forn an alternative route from Furobisi vaI1ey to Yapei. HEATIH FACITITIES: [he contcibution of the health services to social and. econcmic develotrment is well recogn:ised, in these areas. Actions to improve the health and socio-econmj-c sltr:ation of the existing comr:rrlties in the zone have therefore been accepted. as intimately linkecl and mutually supportive. The Primary Health Care System j-nclud.ing envirormental and personal health ccmponents have been built on the principle of tlirect comm:nity participation to serve as a base for all health care. Mecha,nisrn for pronpt refe:sing of ptients accord.ing to need, to supporting 1evels of health care delivery faeiU-ties has been an integral part of the system. The Primary llealth Care System provides serrrices at three IeveIs:- (i) f,eveI A - Commurrity: Eere farrily and cmunity health workers, selected and compensated by the comunity itself, possib\y with the help of the district council are trained. and superrrised by the Ministry of Health to und.ertake basic preventive, prmotive and. therapeutic proced.ures. [he rnajor fi:nctional responsibilities include pregnancy na.nagenent r bfuth spacingt (ii) -7 - growth and clevelopment of infa^nts a^nd children with en$hasis on nutrition, personal health improvement procedures, householiL and enrrirorrrental protection, etc. Ireve1 B - Local Council Sub-areas (Eealth Station.A,reas): Every ccmun:ity with leveI A workers is provicletl withj.n I kilometers with a heal-th station providing the first referring point and contact with Ministry of Eealth Persoru:e1. The health station is staffed. with 2 or more ccmr:nity Eealth Nrrrse/Miawives and a Eealth Inspection Assistant. Ihis 1eveI provicles support and technical superrision of the level A workers. llhe persorucel also are engaged in thd d.iagnosis and. treatment of referred. lntients" (iU) Level C - District: Ttris is the key Ieve1 in the prima:ry health care system and serveas the base for plarrring, management, supe::vision, data collection ancl ana\rsis, bud.geting and. financial conf,rol. A District Health Management Team conprising the District Medical Officer of Health, Distri.ct hrblic Health Nr:rse, Senior Eealth Inspeetor and the Senior [echnical 0fficer (Meaicat Fieltt Unit) are responsible for aI] health activities in the district. This system is being implemented. in West Dagonba, 3o1el T-axya a^nd. 3awlor Districts. SffilJTCES: Seattered in ancl aror:nd the Zone axe l4 hospitals (tottr Goverrment and private), tO health centres and 2I health posts. The epictemiolory Unit of the Ministry of Eealth plans to set up treafuent Centres to treat hr:man onchocerciasis at villages most affected. Meanwhile the ptysician specialist attached. to the programme ca:ries out regular visits to affected. aJeas to give treatment. The Mirrj.stry of Health has also clesigned. series of progra.mes to control cormtunicable d.iseases. The Leprosy Service operates J5 Static clinics and 10 nobile stations in areas such as Bawkue Bolgatanga and Laura and. other 178 Clinic areas. -8- Various prograrnmes measures to control fever and. tuberculosi-s are being pr:rsued. by collaboration rvi-th USAID, EEC and. UlffCm'. FEI,I,OWSHIPS: tetanus, measles, yellow the Government of Ghana in Ihe Goverr:ment of the Republic of Gharra acknowled"ges the great contri-bution the OCP has so far played in improving the manpower need.s of the country toward.s the socj.o-economic develotrxnent of the freed. Zone. The two Ghanaians who are being sponsored. by the Programme to read Health Economj-cs in the United. States will assist very much in the various projects being pr:rsued. or planrred for the Zone. UNDP TMUTS: The fuoject document Cldl/eO/O2I which was sub,mitted to the IIMP as a resul-t of the recommend,ations of a tripartite review meeting has not as yet been implemented. lhe implementation of the fuoject has been delayed due to the following factors: The FAO-appointed. Develop- nent Planning Co-ord.j-nator who was responsible for d.eveloping the d.etailed. operational mod.alities, work plan and institutional framework of the project, d.eparted. for a reassigruoent. Secondly, the Secretariat becanie understaffed. due to the retirement of the fo:rter Executive Dj-rector and the departr:re of the two Ghanaian Economic Plaruring Staff and. the FAO Agricultr:ra1 Specialist attached. to the Secretarj.at. With the assr.mption of office of a new Executive Director and. a few supporting staff at the Secretariat, the FAO has been asked- to send. a mission to reappraise the present position of the project and to make recormend.ations to the 111(DP for tire fund.ing of the rest of the ?roject which includ.es inter a1ia, ad.equate transport, equipment for field operati-ons with stock of spare parts, the preparation of the Ten-Year d.evelopment plan for the priority planning Zone and. complete ca.nping equipment for persons who will be working in the priority area. It is the fervent hope of the Govemrnent of Ghana that the UNDP will co-operate as i-t has always d.one with regard.s to the financing of the project. The Ghana Government has already p1ed.ged. $2 mitlion fron its Ind.icative Planning Figrre toward.s thj-s end.. All agencles involved. in the socio-economic develotrment of the oncho- freed. zone in Ghana are being asked to pursue the task with d.edlcation.