Ghana intensifies prevention interventions to achieve malaria elimination target

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has expressed commitment to strengthening interventions in the fight against malaria to achieve the five-year strategic plan by the year 2025.

The Service is hoping to achieve 90 per cent malaria reduction by the year 2025, using the 2019 baseline.

This would include the expansion of malaria vaccines to other children, increase in the distribution of treated bed nets, an increase in indoor residual spraying exercise and mass administration of malaria vaccines in schools.

Dr Nana Yaw Peprah, Deputy Programme Manager, National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) of the GHS, made the commitment at the launch and commemoration of the 2024 World Day celebration at Nungua in the Krowor Municipality in Accra.

Dr Peprah said the commitment to strengthen the interventions stemmed from the further reduction in malaria-related deaths from 151 in 2022 to 146 in 2023.

Malaria-related admissions for all ages reduced from 394,027 in 2019 to 445,079 in 2023, indicating a 13 per cent increase.

An update on Ghana’s malaria situation also shows that testing for the disease also saw a five per cent increase from 94 per cent in 2019 to 98 per cent in 2023.

“The NMCP recorded a decline of malaria-related deaths at all ages, from 333 in 2019 to 146 cases in 2023.

“This is a 56 per cent reduction hence the commitment to improve on the interventions to sustain the progress while making a frantic effort to achieve the five-year strategic plan,” Dr Peprah added.

He said despite the successes, the NMEP was challenged with the consistent gap between ITN use and ownership, limited resources to expand and introduce effective interventions, and sub-optimal adherence to test, treat and track, among others.

He thus called for enhanced advocacy and resource mobilisation at all levels to achieve elimination.

World Malaria Day is a day set aside to highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment to malaria prevention and control of the disease.

The global theme for the 2024 celebration is “Accelerating the Fight Against Malaria for a More Equitable World.”

However, a local theme; “Health Equity, the Cornerstone of Malaria Elimination in Ghana” has been adopted to fit the country’s peculiar situation.

The Day, which was instituted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Member States during the World Health Assembly of 2007, is also observed to highlight successes in the fight against malaria, and individual responsibilities to end malaria and ensure a malaria-free world.

Globally it is reported that 249 million new malaria cases and 608,000 malaria deaths were recorded in 2022.

Dr Patrick Kumah-Aboagye, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, speaking at the event, noted that as part of the strategy, Ghana was targeting the first 21 districts for elimination using multiple interventions.

He said those districts had been selected due to their low malaria burden levels, with parasite prevalence less than one per cent and malaria incidence less than 50 per 1000 population.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye expressed appreciation to stakeholders, who contributed to the malaria success so far, adding that the elimination fight had just started, and urged all to maintain the momentum to actualise the ambition.

Source: GNA

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