Holy Child R/C Basic School Wins Malaria Inter-School Quiz
Holy Child R/C Basic School in Tema West emerged winners of the 2025 Malaria Inter-School Quiz Competition grand finale held at the Accra Technical University Auditorium in Accra last Friday.
The winners bagged 44 points in a keenly contested final.
It fought hard to overpower a stiff contest from Nii Kojo Ababio Basic School, Accra Metro, which settled for the first runner-up place with 41 points, leaving Dansoman 2 Basic School, Ablekuman West, for the second runner-up place with 38 points.
The academic exercise organised by the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) was to mark this year’s World Malaria Day.
It was on the theme: "Malaria ends with us: Reinvest, reimagine, reignite".
It aimed at encouraging the involvement of school pupils and children in the combat against malaria, which has become a persistent disease across the country and contributes to a lot of deaths.
The competition saw 21 schools from 21 districts in the Greater Accra Region compete for the top prize.
The winner and the first runner-up received two laptops, T-shirts, a citation for the school, books and other stationery, and a certificate of participation for the participants, while the second runner-up received two tablets, a citation for the school, books and stationery and a certificate of participation.
Call to Action
Speaking at the event on behalf of the Deputy Regional Director of Education, John K. Ramson, he encouraged the pupils to take malaria prevention as seriously as their academic work.
"Education is not only about what you learn in the classroom.
It is also about applying knowledge to real-life situations.
You have learned a lot about malaria through this quiz competition now, go out and put that knowledge into action," he said.
He urged the pupils to be role models for their peers and families as change-makers in their communities.
Prevention Progress
The Deputy Programme Manager for the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) of the GHS, Dr Nana Yaw Peprah, commended Ghana’s progress in reducing malaria cases and emphasised that more work needed to be done.
He indicated that malaria parasite prevalence had “dropped from 28 per cent in 2011 to about nine per cent in 2022, while malaria-related deaths had declined from over 2,000 a decade ago to fewer than 300, last year”.
Dr Peprah emphasised the need for adequate funding to eliminate malaria and urged pupils to actively spread awareness of malaria prevention measures such as using mosquito nets, eliminating breeding sites, and seeking prompt medical attention.
"Young people have the power to drive change.
Talk to your parents, your friends, and your neighbours.
Educate them on the importance of sleeping under treated nets and ensuring that their environment is clean.
You are the ambassadors of this fight," he charged the pupils.
