Snakes killing farmers in Kandin, Northern Region

The chiefs and people of Kandin in the Tatale-Sanguli District of the Northern Region are appealing to the government to supply the Kandin Health Center with an anti-snake syrum.

According to them, the non-availability of the vaccine is making the treatment of snake bites a big challenge leading to many of them dying from the situation.

Kandin is a farming community with over 90 percent of the people being farmers.

A majority of the farm produce that enters the Yendi, Tamale and Techiman markets come from this area.

As farmers, one of their biggest challenges is snake bite.

Most of them get bitten by snakes in the course of their activities.

But the only health centre in the area lacks anti-snake syrum.

A situation described by residents as a threat to their work.

The Chief of the Kandin Community, Ubor Chamame Tanobe Ujabankarfor I, told 3news.com the situation has led to several farmers losing their lives.

According to him, the porous nature of the Kandin-Tatale road coupled with the long-distance results in victims of snake bites resorting to local treatment.

“The people resort to local treatment anytime someone is bitten by a snake because the only facility has no drugs to cater for them. They end up dying,” he said in their local language.

He appealed to the Tatale-Sanguli District Assembly and the health directorate to procure some of the drugs for the Kandin Health Center.

The Assemblyman for the area, Chemak Abraham, who is a farmer himself, narrated a sad incident where a victim of snakebite lost his life in September.

“He visited the health facility and he was told to go to Tatale Polyclinic because the facility lacked the Syrum. Unfortunately, he went to Tatale and didn’t get the syrum so he died.”

A visit to the Kandin Health Center confirmed the facility records not less than five cases of snake bites every month.

The Medical Officer at the facility is worried about the increasing cases of snake bites and the lack of anti-snake venoms at the facility.

Labour ward

The stationed midwife at the facility, Gladys Gyimah, is also worried about how she has to improvise a delivery bed for pregnant women who deliver at the facility.

She narrates the situation is stressful and affects the labour processes.

She appealed for a delivery bed to make women going through labour comfortable during delivery.

She also appealed for a means of transport for their referral cases.

Security

A five-acre land has been allocated for the construction of a police post.

This, they say, will reduce the increasing rate of armed robbery and other criminal activities recorded in the area.

They added that the existence of a police post will help stop the chieftaincy disputes claiming lives and destroying properties in the area, noting the recent clash at Sheini could have been controlled if there was a police post in the area.

December 7 elections

On the December 7 elections, the chief appealed to the leading political parties and their supporters to play the peace game as the area is already volatile to conflict.