One million schoolchildren get free bed nets
Over one million schoolchildren in both public and private basic schools in Ghana have received Insecticide Treated Nets free of charge to help in the fight against malaria.
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Schoolchildren from primary two and six received the nets in six regions namely Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Volta and Western.
Mr Prince Owusu, a Senior Technical Advisor of the John Hopkins Centre for Communication Programmes and VectorWorks, a USAID funded health project who made this known in an interview, said the exercise was carried out by the National Malaria Control Programme and the School Health Education Programme (SHEP).
He, however, said the rest of the regions would be covered in the 2016/2017 academic year.
Mr Owusu explained that the two groups of pupils were chosen because their class populations were stable which made it suitable for better estimation and projections.
He advised both parents and children to hang the nets in the shade for 24 hours in order to reduce the chemical content in the net before use.
He cautioned that failure to follow the instructions prior to the use of the nets could result in allergic reactions which included burning sensations, itching, rashes on the skin, as well as redness of the eyes, but was quick to add that such reactions were not fatal.
Mr Owusu said when the nets got dirty, all users should wash them with mild detergents, pointing out that they should not be in the sun but in a shade in order not to destroy the potency of the chemicals which provide protection from mosquito bites.
He pointed out that if beneficiaries and parents took very good care of the nets, they could last for three years.
The senior technical advisor said the nets could prevent mosquito bites, serve as repellents and lethal doses for mosquitoes which came into contact with them.
He said ever since the schoolchildren were provided with the nets free of charge, the incidence of malaria had reduced among them.
