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Ghana, my beloved homeland, is not only troubled by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, the country is also concerned about how to eliminate one of its silent but major deadly diseases: malaria.
Unlike COVID-19 which is new to us, malaria has plagued us for decades, if not centuries, sending many people to their first graves. Like a hunter deprived of mercy for any animal he encounters, malaria spares no life. It affects and kills people of all ages and genders.
Malaria remains a major public health problem in Ghana and, by extension, in sub-Saharan Africa, where according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), 90% of malaria cases and 92% of malaria deaths in the world 2015.
Every year, many countries in Africa devote huge budgets to malaria-related activities. For example, according to the WHO, in 2018, an estimated US $ 2.7 billion was invested in global malaria control and elimination efforts and that nearly three-quarters of investments in 2018 were spent in the WHO African Region.
In a study titled: “Estimating the Risk of Declining Funding for Malaria Control in Ghana: The Case for Continued Investment in the Malaria Response” published on June 10, 2020 via www.malariajournal.biomedcentral.com , it has been estimated that it will cost Ghana $ 961 million between 2020 and 2029 to eliminate malaria.
Although many malaria control interventions have been deployed in Ghana over the past two decades, malaria remains one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in Ghana.
The disease, according to the National Malaria Control Program (PNLP), accounted for 42.8% of outpatient (OPD) cases, 22.2% of inpatient admissions and 1.1% of inpatient deaths in 2019.
Currently, malaria accounts for around 34% of DPO cases and 22% of hospitalized cases and 2.1% of hospitalized patient deaths in the country.
Although malaria kills regardless of age and gender, the disease is quite fatal in children and pregnant women, especially children under the age of five.
Statistics from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in 2016 revealed that Ghana recorded a total of 590 deaths from malaria in children under the age of five. That figure fell to 327 in 2017, however, showing an improvement in the country’s efforts in the fight against the disease.
While Ghana’s efforts to reduce malaria deaths and cases are laudable, the country remains among the 11 most malaria-affected countries in the world, with the country recording 333 malaria deaths as of the end of 2019.
It is important to mention that although malaria-related deaths increased from 2,799 in 2012 to 333 at the end of 2019, since 2012 the proportion of OPD malaria cases tested by microscopy or by rapid diagnostic test (RDT) has steadily increased, from 40 out of every 100 cases in 2012 to 96 out of 100 being tested in 2019.
And of the 10 countries most affected by malaria in Africa, Ghana and Nigeria reported the highest absolute increases in malaria cases in 2018 compared to 2017.
Preventing malaria-related deaths and cases is not beyond Ghana’s reach. However, we can achieve it, if only we engage in the struggle. For example, over the past five years, Ghana has seen a steady decline in malaria deaths among children under five, and this can still be achieved.
At an editors-in-chief’s forum in Accra in September 2020, the deputy director of programs of the National Malaria Control Program (PNLP), Mr. James Frimpong, said that Ghana had recorded an 83% reduction in deaths from malaria in children under five in the past eight years. .
In his explanation, he added that the rate of malaria-related deaths had increased from 0.6% in 2012 to 0.1% in 2019, showing significant progress in malaria-related deaths among children.
For Frimpong, Ghana’s new five-year strategic plan, covering the period 2021-2025, was developed with the intention of reducing all malaria-related deaths by 90% by 2023 and halving the incidence of malaria. by 2025.
Zero malaria starts with me
The goals of reducing all malaria-related deaths by 90% by 2023 and halving the incidence of malaria by 2025 are laudable and must be a priority in our national activities. It also requires that we change our attitude towards illness, especially how to prevent it in the first place. That is why everyone should participate in the “Zero Malaria Starts With Me” campaign.
The Zero Malaria Starts With Me campaign was launched across Africa in 2018 with the goal of achieving zero malaria-related deaths in Africa, particularly in malaria-endemic countries on the continent, including Ghana. . Ghana is among the 11 countries most affected by malaria in the world.
Adopted by 55 African heads of state and government, 16 African countries have since launched the campaign (Zero Malaria Start with Me) nationwide, sparking grassroots movements that seek to involve individuals, families, communities, religious leaders, business leaders, leaders and other members of society to own the fight to end malaria, creating a world without malaria.
The goals of the Zero Malaria, Start with Me campaign include mobilizing the financial resources needed to end malaria and building community momentum through education and ownership of control interventions. antimalarial.
Our roles
Achieving the goals of the Zero Malaria Starts with Me campaign will require that we as a people and as a nation give the campaign the necessary support.
Supporting the campaign also means that we participate actively in the various malaria control interventions implemented by the National Malaria Control Program (PNLP). These interventions include the distribution of long-lasting insecticidal mosquito nets (LLINs) through mass campaigns, indoor residual spraying for areas with high parasite prevalence, management of larval sources, seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SPC) , prevention of malaria during pregnancy and adherence to treatment and tracking (3Ts).
Unfortunately, many of these interventions do not receive the necessary support from the very people for whom these interventions were introduced. Many health experts have expressed concern that many parents who own LLINs do not sleep in them, some going so far as to use the treated mosquito nets to fence their gardens.
For example, a report from the Ghanaian News Agency of September 26, 2020, titled: “Launch of the Media Coalition for Malaria Control and Elimination”, quoted Dr Anthony Adofo Ofosu, deputy director general of the Service. Health Organization (GHS), who said that despite the country achieving over 70% of insecticide-treated bednets (ITNs) coverage, only 50% of people who owned these nets slept there, which led to widespread exposure to mosquitoes.
Parents must sleep in the nets with their families. And also, people should refrain from self-medication. This is because the practice of people not getting tested for malaria, but going to drugstores and chemical stores to buy malaria drugs on the basis of advertisements they might have. seeing or hearing in the media is not only dangerous to their health, but could potentially lead to death.
Most importantly, pregnant women should follow the full course of antimalarial drugs given to them during pregnancy. This will help them protect themselves and their unborn children against malaria infections. This is because malaria during pregnancy, if not detected early and treated, can lead to death.
As the popular saying goes, one point in time saves nine. We must all do our part to ensure a malaria-free Ghana, as we cannot afford to lose our loved ones to malaria. Zero malaria indeed starts with YOU!
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