Malaria control campaign takes off
A new malaria control campaign to encourage the use of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) has been rolled out.
Advertisement
The campaign targets, especially, pregnant women and children, who are mostly affected by malaria.
In 2015, malaria accounted for 38.1 per cent of all Out Patient Department (OPD) cases and seven per cent of deaths and the use of ITNs have shown to avert about 50 per cent of malaria cases and also prevent 17 per cent of all deaths.
Malaria has been a major cause of poverty and low productivity accounting for 48.8 per cent of under five years admissions in the country
The campaign, which is the latest attempt to control malaria in Ghana, is aimed at reducing the malaria disease burden till it is no longer a public health concern.
It was also recognised that malaria could not be controlled by the health sector alone, therefore multiple strategies were being pursued with other health-related sectors.
The intervention is an initiative of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) of the Ghana Health Service in collaboration with UNICEF and UKaid, which was launched in Accra last Tuesday focusing on Behaviour Change Communications (BCC).
Behaviour change communications
Launching the campaign in Accra on behalf of the first lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, the Minister of Health, Mr Alex Segbefia, explained that Ghana continued to bear the brunt of malaria as the country recorded 10.1 million OPD cases in 2015, though deaths declined by 3.0 per cent for the same year.
Mr Segbefia explained that the BCC was necessary to improve treatment and surveillance and it was critical for the Test, Treat and Track initiative, adding, “It is vital for building trust in test results, especially when patients receive malaria negative test results and are unsure of what to do next”.
He called on families to always hang and use their bed net every night and also care for them when they were torn.
He urged the Malaria Control Programme as well as partners to create demand for replacing bed nets as part of their distributing campaigns.
Ghana among top ten
The Acting Programme Manager of NMCP, Dr Kezier Malm, who gave an overview of the malaria burden in Ghana, said Ghana was among the top 10 countries contributing to the world malaria burden with children under five and pregnant women being the most vulnerable.
Dr Malm noted that over 13.6 ITNs were distributed between 2014 and 2015 alone, but not all the nets distributed were used for its intended purpose.
She called on health workers to always test all suspected malaria cases for appropriate treatment, and encouraged households to cover puddles around their homes to avert mosquito breeding.
International partners
The Deputy Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Gloria Quansah- Asare, commended the international partners for their tremendous and continuous support in the social mobilisation crusade cases in support of the malaria control effort.
She assured stakeholders and other partners of their continuous support in the area of advocacy for increased mobilisation of domestic and external funding as well as provide guidance to ensure appropriate malaria policies and BCC interventions.
Ms Susan Namondo Ngongi, UNICEF Representative to Ghana, commended Ghana for making significant progress with 65 per cent use of nets, but said there was still one in three people who were needlessly exposed.
“We need to convince not just the population but the politicians, policy makers, the private sector, media and civil society so that we can focus attention towards reducing the malaria foot print in Ghana”