Ghana joins global community to mark World Malaria Day
Another opportunity has come for Ghana and the international community to access the national and global malaria interventions over the years, as the country joined the global community to mark the 2016 World Malaria Day on Monday.
Advertisement
The day is celebrated globally on April 25 every year, with a wide range of activities geared towards raising awareness of the need to ensure that no one ever dies of malaria by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Malaria, although preventable, has been identified as one of the major causes of mortality in the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
As a result of the alarming mortality rates of malaria, the United Nations has keen interest in ensuring a malaria-free world by instituting the World Malaria Day, by the Member States of the World Health Organisation (WHO) during the World Health Assembly of 2007.
Malaria-free world
Each year, the WHO and partners unite around a common World Malaria Day theme. This year’s theme, "End malaria for good," reflects the vision of a malaria-free world. The local theme for the celebration is: “End malaria for good: Invest in Malaria.”
It is an occasion to highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment for malaria prevention and control, and it is also an opportunity for countries in affected regions to learn from each other's experiences and support each other's efforts.
The WHO has also recommended accelerated efforts to achieving a malaria-free world, and acting with urgency to reduce the number of people suffering and dying from this preventable and treatable illness, to achieve malaria elimination locally, nationally and regionally as soon as possible.
It said stakeholders needed to demonstrate continued progress in the global fight against malaria and show that reducing malaria was critical to achieving the SDGs.
Situation in Ghana
In Ghana, statistics from the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) have established that malaria-related mortality has been declining for the past five years.
In 2010, 3,882 deaths caused by malaria were recorded. The figure declined to 3,197 deaths in 2011 and further reduced to 2,799 in 2012.
In 2013, 2,985 deaths were recorded, reducing to 2,200 in 2014 and 2,137 in 2015.
The Manager of the NMCP, Dr Constance Bart-Plange, attributed the successful trend in the decline to the intensification of national preventive and management interventions focused on reducing the prevalence and mortality rate by 75 per cent by 2020.
Dr Bart-Plange said the fight against malaria was a shared responsibility and called on all stakeholders to support the various initiatives.
The Director of Public Health at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Badu Sarkodie, said the celebration of World Malaria Day was an opportunity for the people to learn more about the devastating consequences of the disease and the various interventions taken on its prevention and treatment so far.
Causes, symptoms and treatment
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by parasitic protozoans (a group of single-celled micro-organisms) belonging to the plasmodium type.
Malaria symptoms include fever, fatigue, vomiting and headaches. In severe cases it can cause yellow skin, seizures, coma or death.
Symptoms usually begin 10 to 15 days after being bitten by an infected female Anopheles mosquito. If not properly treated, people may have recurrences of the disease months later.
The mosquito bite introduces the parasites from the mosquito's saliva into a person's blood. The parasites travel to the liver where they mature and reproduce. Five species of plasmodium can infect and be spread by humans.
The risk of the disease can be reduced by preventing mosquito bites by using mosquito nets and insect repellents, or with mosquito-control measures such as spraying insecticides and draining standing water.