The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, has launched the European Commission and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Water and Sanitation Project aimed at reducing guinea worm in the Northern region. The EC and UNICEF jointly funded the project known as "the integrated approach to guinea worm eradication, through water supply, sanitation and hygiene in Northern Ghana." The EC is contributing 14.5 million Euros, while UNICEF, the implementing agency is providing 5.05 million Euros. The objective of the project is to contribute to an improvement in family health status and quality of life of the population in a highly guinea worm endemic districts in northern Ghana. The project specifically targets nine of the top guinea worm endemic districts, which are Savelugu/Nanton, Tolon/kumbungu, Nanumba North, Gushiegu, Central Gonja, Karaga and Zabzugu/Tatale and aims at reducing the disease there by 90 per cent. It is expected that under the project, access to safe drinking water would be improved with the provision of about 270 boreholes, 80 rehabilitated boreholes, 20 dug wells, 60 mechanised systems and 30 alternative water systems. Basic sanitation delivery and coverage were also expected to increase with the construction of 48,000 latrines and improved hygiene behaviour practices with focus on hand washing. Source: GNA