World Malaria Day commemorated

The World Malaria Day has been commemorated in Accra with a call on stakeholders to support various interventions towards the elimination of the disease. 

The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, said a multi-pronged approach involving all stakeholders, including religious, women’s groups and traditional leaders was needed in the malaria elimination agenda.

“We want communities to own the elimination, put it on their agenda and strive for their people to be free from malaria once and for all,” he added. 

Essence

The day is commemorated on April 25 each year to raise awareness of the global effort to control and ultimately eradicate malaria. The global theme for the event was “Accelerate the fight against malaria for a more equitable world,” while the local theme was “Health equity: The cornerstone for achieving malaria elimination in Ghana.”

The programme, which was held at the Church of Pentecost, Fred Stephen Temple, Nungua, was attended by traditional leaders, community-based groups and residents. Among activities included a skit on malaria by students of the Nungua SHS.

Some pharmaceutical and healthcare companies also exhibited their products at the event that was chaired by Nii Laryea Afotey-Agbo, former Greater Accra Regional Minister and Member of Parliament for the Kpone-Katamanso Constituency. 

Strategies

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the country was on the path to eliminating malaria, hence the launch of a national malaria elimination strategy 2024-2028 document, outlining various steps to combat the disease. 

He said malaria testing rate had improved considerably from 38 per cent in 2012, to 98.2 per cent in 2023. Also, malaria prevalence reduced from 27.5 per cent in 2011, to 8.6 per cent in 2022, while deaths due to malaria had also reduced remarkably from 2,799 in 2012, to 146 in  2023.

“This consistent reduction in morbidity and mortality assures us all about the effectiveness of our interventions, and also amplifies our hope of elimination with improved and sustained efforts,” Dr Kuma-Aboagye added.  

The Chief Director of the Ministry of Health, Alhaji Hafiz Adam, said the government would continue to invest in robust surveillance systems to identify hotspots and target interventions towards such places.

He said they would also scale up prevention control strategies, such as distribution of treated nets, intensifying environmental management, investment in research and other innovative measures, to eliminate the disease. 

Action

The National Malaria Champion, Oheneyere Gifty Anti, urged the public to take personal and collective action towards the elimination of malaria. “You do not need to wait for the government or assemblies before taking action. By joining hands, we can create a future where malaria is a thing of the past,” she said.

For his part, the Municipal Chief Executive of the Krowor Municipal Assembly, Joshua Nii Bortey, said his office had drawn a five-year action plan towards the elimination of the disease in the area.