Dr Gloria Quansah-Asare
The number of malaria cases recorded in the country has dropped from 11.4 million in 2013 to 8.4 in 2014.
This figure brings the prevalence of the disease to 27.5 percent countrywide.
Dr Gloria Quansah-Asare, Deputy Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), who mentioned this at the commemoration of the World Malaria Day in Takoradi, said the prevalence of the disease had also dropped among pregnant women and children.
The commemoration, themed: ‘Invest In The Future: Defeat Malaria’, was to draw more attention on the malaria menace.
According to her, the significant improvement in malaria control programme in the country was due to the successful implementation of programmes such as the use of insecticide treated nets, indoor residual spraying, frequent public education and awareness creation on public health issues.
Dr Keziah Malm, acting Programmes Manager of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), stressed that malaria was a major contributor to hospital attendance, accounting for about 30 percent of all out-patients department cases, 27.9 percent of inpatient cases and 7.2 percent deaths.
She, however, added that the NMCP had developed a national strategic plan for malaria control, spanning 2014-2020 to reduce disease and death due to malaria by 75 percent by 2020.
Dr Malm mentioned that the NMCP would distribute more than 2.8 million long lasting insecticidal nets in the Western and Brong-Ahafo regions through its point distribution mechanism in May this year.
She revealed that the programme with its partners had already distributed 12.5 million nets from 2010-2012 and in 2014 alone more than 1.3 million treated nets through the same mechanism in the Eastern and Volta regions, in the first half of the year.
The Deputy Western Regional Minister, Alfred Ekow Gyan, mentioned that the commemoration of the day was an opportunity for Ghanaians to learn more about the devastating consequences of the disease, among others.
He pointed out that the Western Regional Health Directorate was working very hard to implement all interventions recommended by the programme.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi
Via: -Daily Guide
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