The World Health Organisation, with the support of a specialist group from the US is developing clinical policy guidelines on modern wound care that makes treatment of wound care universal.

In an interview with the GNA in Accra on Wednesday after a day’s workshop in Accra on best practices in wound care, Ms. Mary Geyer of the University of Chatham in the USA and a member of the group, said the World Health Organisation (WHO) regarded both modern wound care and lymphedema management as a global imperative and the new knowledge and that technique and material should be made available to developing countries as well.

The team is in Ghana to exchange ideas with their Ghanaian counterparts and make room for their input into the formulation of the policy.

She said there was the need to include the African practical approach in the policy, adding that, Ghana had a centre of excellence in wound care.

Participants made up of plastic surgeons and nurses were taken through topics including Physical Therapy, Current Roles in Wound lymphedema Management, Approach to the Treatment of Diabetes Foot Ulcers and Venous Treatment of Diabetes Leg Ulcers and Modern Wound Care.

The mission of the initiative includes education, advocacy and price negotiations with producers of modern dressings as well as identify national experts in wound care and institutions that can be involved in the development of modern wound care practices.

Ms Geyer explained that modern wound care and related lymphedema management included leprosy, Buruli Ulcer and common tropical ulcers which had become a vital medical force.

She added that the treatment of chronic wound care and lymphedema affected all medical specialties and all ages.

More than one billion people in approximately 80 countries live at risk of contracting lymphatic Filariasis, more commonly known as elephantiasis, which is a devastating parasitic infection spread by mosquitoes.

Currently over 120 million people are already infected, with more than 40 million incapacitated or disfigured by the disease.


Source: GNA