British Minister sleeps in Ghana rural community without light, toilet

UK’s Parliamentary Under Secretary of  State for International Development, Mr. Stephen O’Brien, passed a night at Gupanerigu in the Tolon/Kumbungu District.

The town has no electricity and Mr O’Brien’s intention was to understand the living conditions of the people to enable him to garner more assistance for them in Britain.

Mr O’Brien, who is an MP for Eddisbury, visited some farms and projects in the district and paid a courtesy call on Naa Yiri Alhaji Abu Iddrisu, Paramount Chief of the Kumbungu Traditional Area.

Mr O’Brien announced a 10 million-pound fund to be released in April 2011 to support the fight against malaria in the country through the procurement and distribution of insecticide treated bed nets.

He said this commitment underlined the UK’s support for the efforts being made by the government of Ghana to fight malaria and added that the support would be channeled through UNICEF.

Naa Yiri Iddrisu appealed to the UK government to extend its support to the Kumbungu Traditional Area in areas of education, health, road networks and poverty reduction.

Mr. Awudu Bawa Iddrisu, the Medical Assistant for the Kumbungu Health Center, said malaria accounted for the majority of the OPD attendance at the hospital especially between May and October every year.

Source: GNA