NMCP records decrease in malaria cases
World Malaria Day is celebrated on April 25 every year with a wide range of activities geared towards raising awareness and highlighting the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment to malaria prevention and control.
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This is to ensure that no one dies of malaria by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This year, the day is being marked internationally on the theme: "End malaria for good," while the local theme is: "End malaria for good; invest in malaria", which reflects the vision of the United Nations (UN) to see a malaria-free world by 2030.
Malaria, although preventable, has been identified as one of the major causes of mortality in the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, and remains both a major cause and a consequence of global poverty and inequity. Its burden is greatest in the least developed areas and among the poorest members of society.
Life-saving prevention
Many of those most vulnerable – especially young children and pregnant women – are still not able to access the life-saving prevention, diagnosis and treatment they so urgently need.
The good news, however, is that statistics from the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) indicate that in 2013, nine million confirmed malaria cases were recorded but the numbers reduced to less than seven million in 2014 and further decreased to six million in 2015.
It continued to decrease further to below six million in 2016.
According to the Manager of the NMCP of Ghana, Dr Constant Bart-Plange, deaths due to malaria among pregnant women and children had reduced drastically as a result of the adoption of a multi-pronged strategy.
She said active public education on public health issues, compliance and adherence to the treatment of malaria had improved malaria management and contributed to the success attained.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic after a health walk organised by the NMCP as part of activities to commemorate this year’s World Malaria Day in Accra last Saturday, Dr Bart-Plange indicated that the health sector was seriously working to end malaria in the country.
Health walk
The health walk, themed "A walk to End Malaria", brought together health personnel from the School of Hygiene, School of Public Health, Ghana Prisons Service, keep fit clubs, implementing partners, the school of health educational programme under the Ghana Education Service (GES), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), among others.
The walk started from the NMCP close to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) through Asylum Down to Kanda, then through Nima to Maamobi and ended at Kawukudi park, with participants bearing placards with inscriptions such as "Act fast when your child has malaria", "Malaria lowers children’s ability to learn", "test, treat and track" and "Do not conclude its malaria, test first", with the same inscriptions on the white T-shirts they wore.
Environmental management
Elaborating on some factors that contributed to malaria, Dr Bart-Plange said environmental management was a factor that had not been properly managed, adding that the increasing rate of ‘galamsey’ had added to the contributing factors.
The Deputy Manager of the NMCP, Dr Kenceh Malm, mentioned that some of the interventions that had helped to reduce cases of malaria included indoor residual spraying in parts of the country and some places in the Ashanti Region, adding that treating pregnant women of malaria after three months of pregnancy was scaled up as part of the interventions.