Let’s redouble efforts to eradicate malaria — Gold Fields Foundation
The Executive Secretary of the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation, Abdel-Razak Yakubu, has urged stakeholders in the fight against malaria to redouble their efforts to eliminate the disease.
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This, he explained, was crucial to ensure that the disease did not continue to wreak havoc on the nation’s human resources, especially those under five years who are the future leaders.
Mr Yakubu made the call when the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation, in partnership with the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Health Directorate, held a joint celebration of the 2024 World Malaria Day at the Tarkwa Senior High School in the Western Region.
The celebration was on the theme “health equity, gender and human rights”. It was used to educate the students on malaria and its prevention, demonstration on the usage of mosquito nets and repellents, distribution of mosquito nets, presentation of 1,000 pieces of repellent and inter-house quiz competition.
Wellbeing, awareness
The foundation, he said, since its inception had spent $6.2 million under the health sector to promote effective and efficient healthcare and encouraged the students to make good use of the mosquito repellent donated by the foundation to help in the prevention of malaria.
“At Gold Fields, health is of much importance to us, as it can affect your physical, mental and emotional well-being. That is why we need to take steps to prevent certain diseases, hence the need to invest in this programme”, Mr Yakubu said.
The Western Region Malaria Focal Person, Clement Amakwah, noted that a lot had been done on awareness creation over the years but currently, the focus was on elimination.
He stated that children under age five, pregnant women and individuals with weak immune systems stood at high risk of getting malaria, adding that “For pregnant women, if you are diagnosed of malaria, you stand a high risk of getting a pre-term baby, miscarriage, underweight baby among others.”
Therefore, he advised all to visit the hospital when they fell sick and ensure that their environment was also clean. He observed that there had been a significant reduction in malaria cases in the Western Region. The region recorded four malaria deaths in 2023 as compared to higher figures in previous years.
The Municipal Chief Executive of Tarkwa Nsuaem, Benjamin Kesse, was hopeful that the education and demonstration on the prevention of malaria would go a long way to eliminate the disease.
The Headmaster of the Tarkwa Senior High School, Benjamin Kesse, commended the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation and other stakeholders for their continued support.
Malaria tops OPD cases
The Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Health Director, Wilhelmina Tiwaah Duah, indicated that in the Western Region, malaria remained the first in the top 10 outpatient department attendance.
However, she said, at Tarkwa Nsuaem, there had been a strong commitment towards elimination through the combined effort of stakeholders. Over the past year, she said the municipality witnessed notable reductions in key malaria indicators.
“Your energy, creativity and passion are invaluable assets in this fight. By raising awareness, promoting healthy behaviours and advocating change, you have the power to make a tangible difference in the lives of those around you”, she said.