Two Ada schools receive jerseys for role in malaria eradication
The USAID Networks Ghana Project has presented 2,882 football jerseys to the Ghana Education Service (GES) for distribution to schoolchildren as their reward for educating their communities to overcome malaria.
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The beneficiary schools are: Akplabanya D/A Primary School and Goi Primary School, both in Sege in the Ada West District.
Children in Primary Two and Primary Six were given free long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN) as one of the strategies to ward off malaria from the district.
They were also educated on malaria and the role of LLINs in its eradication, as well as the need to encourage the use of the nets every night.
Teachers across the nation were given guidelines on how to educate their pupils, using the sketches and drama competitions to enable the pupils to share their knowledge with their communities through drama, dance, visual arts and songs.
Two schools in each circuit across the country would be rewarded with a set of jerseys each for their community engagement efforts in malaria eradication.
The acting Director of USAID Ghana, Mr Andy Karas, said the agency had been actively working with the Ghana Health Service’s National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), the Ghana Education Service and other development partners to implement various approaches aimed at reducing the impact of the disease.
He added that USAID was focusing on several interventions such as indoor spraying with insecticides, preventive treatment in pregnancy, assisting with correct diagnosis and treatment of malaria and the distribution of insecticide treated nets (ITNs).
“Children of today will be the adults of tomorrow. If they know how to protect themselves from malaria and accept bed net use as a normal part of their lives, entire communities will be protected from malaria in the near future,” Mr Karas said.
The National School Health Education Programme Coordinator, Madam Kate Opoku, who spoke on behalf of the Director-General of the GES, thanked USAID for its kind gesture and efforts in overcoming malaria.