Fighting malaria in all areas
Malaria has become a public health problem in the country, with infections occurring in both the young and the old every year.
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But the groups which are most vulnerable are pregnant women and children under five years.
It is to protect these vulnerable groups and, indeed, the entire population that the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) constantly undertakes various projects to help reduce infections, as well as transmission intensity.
Apart from nationwide programmes and education on the use of insecticide treated nets (ITNs), which are distributed free of charge to schoolchildren, pregnant women and nursing mothers, the NMCP has also sought other ways of ensuring prevention against malaria infection by identifying areas where infections are high for special interventions.
Thus, with volunteers visiting homes to register children under five years and following up with medication (which the volunteers ensure are administered in their presence) to further protect them against malaria, it is clear that the NMCP has surely waged war on malaria among children and women. (See story on Front page.)
In addition to this, Ghana is one of three countries in Africa where the first vaccine against malaria will be introduced for trials next year.
The vaccine is meant to cause the immune system to attack the malaria parasite, which is introduced into a person’s bloodstream through bites from the anopheles mosquito.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the vaccine, which will be administered in four doses, would help prevent malaria and potentially save tens of thousands of lives.
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It is acknowledged that Ghana already undertakes many programmes in the fight against malaria, but, unfortunately, it still has high cases of malaria. So it is satisfying to note that the NMCP is leaving no stone unturned in its fight against the disease through interventions with varied strategies in communities where cases are high.
To achieve marked results from such interventions, it is important to constantly educate schoolchildren on the need to sleep in ITNs, so that they can also become agents of change, especially in the rural communities, by making their parents and other members of their households aware of the benefits of using the bed nets regularly.