Embed malaria elimination into all government sectors — NMEP
The National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) has proposed the creation of an inter-ministerial coordinating committee to ensure malaria elimination becomes an “all-of-government, all-of-society” mission.
This is in view of the shifting donor landscape, the need for innovative financing, and ways to embed malaria elimination into all sectors of government.
The proposal was made during a discussion with a high-level UK parliamentary delegation at the British High Commission in Accra.
The delegation was on a week-long learning and advocacy mission to the country.
The visit was facilitated by Malaria No More UK, the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC), and Zero Malaria Britain.
The delegation comprised UK Members of Parliament — Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat, MP for North East Fife), Kim Johnson (Labour, MP for Liverpool Riverside), and Tan Manjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour, MP for Slough) — together with representatives from Malaria No More UK and IVCC.
The UK MPs reaffirmed their support, pledging to champion Ghana’s cause in the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Malaria and to promote expanded UK–Ghana collaboration in science, vaccine production and private sector partnerships.
The delegation also visited the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) to gain firsthand insight of Ghana’s scientific capacity in the malaria fight.
They also interacted with Hope for Future Generations (HFFG) and the Ghana Malaria Youth Corps; health workers of the Abokobi Health Centre, CSOs and development partners.
During the visit to Noguchi, the Director of the Institute, Professor Dorothy Yeboah-Manu, highlighted Noguchi’s vital contributions to public health and its strong collaborations with the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service, the NMEP and other national research institutions.
She also underscored the significant role of UK government support and partnerships with UK universities and research institutions, which had helped to build the skills and capacity of Ghanaian researchers.
A tour of the facilities showcased the Vestergaard Insectary, where cutting-edge research on insecticide resistance is shaping vector control strategies, as well as the advanced research laboratories, where scientists demonstrated how lessons from malaria infrastructure were leveraged during Ghana’s COVID-19 response.
Youth and civil society advocacy
The delegation held an interactive session with the HFFG and the Ghana Malaria Youth Corps, where women, community volunteers, and young leaders showcased their contributions to malaria prevention and advocacy.
At the HFFG, volunteers shared frontline experiences in scaling up interventions among women and children, demonstrating how community-based approaches drive behaviour change and sustain prevention practices.
The spotlight was also on the Ghana Malaria Youth Corps, a youth-led non-governmental organisation launched in December 2024 to combat malaria nationwide.
The corps mobilises young volunteers to promote malaria prevention education in schools and communities, advocate positive health-seeking behaviours, and engage directly in community-level vector control efforts, all with the goal of advancing the Zero Malaria by 2030 agenda.
As part of the broader African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) network of national Youth Corps, the Ghana chapter works to ensure that youth voices and perspectives are integrated into national policy and development strategies.
The MPs applauded the passion and innovation of the Youth Corps and called for greater synergy in advocacy and community engagement, stressing the importance of aligning youth-led initiatives with the NMEP’s strategies and the National Malaria Elimination Strategic Plan (NMESP 2024–2028) to maximise impact.
Frontline realities
Perhaps the most human-centred moment came at the Abokobi Health Centre, where health workers offered the delegation a window into the daily realities of malaria case management.
The team demonstrated the use of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), outlined treatment protocols, and described ongoing challenges in delivering care with limited resources.
Health workers also walked the MPs through preventive interventions such as the distribution of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) to pregnant women during antenatal visits and to children under five at child welfare clinics and the implementation of intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) using sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP), administered under direct observation (DOT) to protect mothers and unborn babies.
Patients and caregivers spoke of how timely diagnosis and treatment had saved lives, while health workers stressed that without steady supplies and resources, gains risked being reversed.
Ghana’s progress
The delegation earlier paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh and they were briefed on Ghana’s progress and ambitions in the fight against malaria.
The Programme Manager of the NMEP, Dr Hilarious Abiwu also highlighted Ghana’s remarkable achievements in a presentation saying malaria deaths had dropped by 97 per cent, from 2,137 in 2015 to just 74 in 2024.
