We need more national resources to fight malaria – First Lady

General News on Friday, April 26, 2019

Source: Ghananewsagency.org

2019-04-26

First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo stressed the urgent need to mobilize national resources to fight malaria in the country.

"The mobilization of national resources has become more urgent than before," she said.

"As I learned, we are taking steps to engage stakeholders to mobilize the necessary resources through the Malaria Foundation. So when you hear knocking on your door, open up and give your quota, "she pleaded.
Speaking at the commemoration of World Malaria Day in Somanya at the Yilo-Krobo Municipal Assembly on Thursday, Ms. Akufo-Addo said that Ghana could only defeat malaria by acting decisively, coherently and relentlessly in a coordinated and effective manner.

She urged Ghanaians to prioritize available resources and ensure their judicious use, in order to help Ghana achieve the country's malaria control goal.
"We can not afford to be complacent because malaria is not complacent. He attacks and attacks. The only way to defeat him is to act … It is possible to achieve zero malaria, "she said with optimism.

The theme of the day was "Zero Malaria Begins with Me" and is being celebrated around the world every year, providing a common platform for showcasing the successes of malaria control, while advocating concerted efforts to meet the challenges.

According to the First Lady, more countries around the world are moving towards zero cases of indigenous malaria.
She said that in 2017, more countries reported fewer than 10,000 cases compared to 2016 and 2010.

The number of countries with fewer than 100 indigenous cases, which was a strong indicator that elimination was within reach, increased from 15 countries in 2010 to 24 countries in 2016 and 26 countries in 2017.

"We can also do this if we all work together and follow the guidelines established by WHO and our national strategy," said Ms. Akufo-Addo.

The First Lady said that Ghana needs to recognize the challenges in malaria eradication to cope with its burden.

"We know that some of the factors that contribute to our stagnation today are out of our control, but there are many more factors that are under our control. We can start from there and move towards a case of zero malaria in Ghana, "she noted.

She mentioned one of the biggest threats to the fight against malaria as being inaction and complacency, claiming that the trend: "celebrate our success and then sink into inertia is unacceptable".

She added that another important challenge was the decrease and inadequacy of national and international funding, which resulted in gaps in the implementation of interventions at all levels.

She emphasized that the theme: "Zero Malaria Begins with Me" is a call to action that requires us all to take advantage of existing interventions to fight malaria.

Ms. Akufo-Addo stated that she adhered to Goodlife's health messages, including the one that urged families to sleep under insecticide-treated mosquito nets, on radio and television, reiterating their commitment to use advocacy to ensure that good health practices are promoted. among Ghanaians.

Ms. Janean Davis, head of the USAID Ghana Health Team, said that the US President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) had partnered with Ghana to combat the Malaria since 2008, funding malaria control interventions and providing valuable technical and operational badistance to strengthen and amplify Ghana's disease efforts.

"We know that fighting malaria is a wise investment to protect health, create opportunities, and foster growth and security in Ghana and around the world. And we know that fighting malaria makes us more effective and has greater impact than we could do alone, "she said.

Dr Keziah Malm, head of the national malaria control program, said his government had stepped up its efforts in recent years to control malaria and that the country was implementing major interventions, including malaria. scientific efficacy was known malaria.

These included the introduction of multiple prevention methods and case management, mainly focused on the principles of testing, treatment and monitoring at all levels, which were supported by advocacy, communication and advocacy activities. and social mobilization for behavior change, as well as robust research, surveillance, monitoring and surveillance. Evaluation.

Dr. Malm revealed that between 2012 and 2018, the number of deaths from malaria had significantly decreased by 85% in all age groups, with the number of malaria deaths rising from 2,799 cases 2012 to 428 in 2018.

However, she called for a refocusing of priorities of all stakeholders to help strengthen malaria prevention, as well as reduce the gap and eradicate the disease.