Japan's Institute of Tropical Medicine to support Noguchie

Isaac Yeboah Health Jun - 06 - 2013 , 22:07

Dr Kenji Hirayama The Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) of the University of Nagasaki in Japan is to collaborate more effectively with the Noguchie Memorial Institute for Medical Research in Ghana to equip more Ghanaians with skills in malaria control. Some Ghanaians have already undergone training programmes at the ITM but increasing the number of beneficiaries, according to management of the institute, would go a long way to boost the country's fight against malaria.

The Head of Department of Immunogenetics at the ITM, Dr Kenji Hirayama, in an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday urged the government to control the spread of malaria more comprehensively with the continued promotion and education of bed nets.

The ITM, established in 1942, is a unique government-assisted institution for the research of tropical medicine, both in the basic and applied fields.

Its reorganisation led to the first collaborative institute in medical science in Japan since 1989 and designated as one of the centres of excellence in 1995 and subsequently authorised as tropical medical research centre.

Dr Hirayama who lauded the government for its efforts in controlling malaria in Ghana, said the ITM was willing to offer more training opportunities to Ghanaians to train at the institute in order to equip them with the needed knowledge to help deal with the malaria menace.

"I have visited Ghana before and I am impressed with the effort the government is making to deal with the situation but there is more room for improvement," he said.

He advised the government to take the promotion of malaria treated nets more seriously and also put in place primary care control programmes such as malaria detection and treatment.

Dr Hirayama pointed out that even though the ITM's promotion with the Noguchie institute started seven years ago the collaboration would have to be closer to help make Ghana a malaria free society.

The ITM aims to overcome tropical diseases, particularly infectious ones, and the various health problems associated with them.

Many African nationals including Ghanaians have benefitted from the ITM and such trainings have led to the elimination of malaria in Victoria Islands, a feat the ITM hopes to extend to the rest of Africa.