HEALTH:MALARIA CLAIMS 41.7% OF CHILDREN BEFORE THEIR 5TH BIRTHDAY

MALARIA CLAIMS 41.7% OF CHILDREN BEFORE THEIR 5TH BIRTHDAY

Edward Adeti’s Report, Upper East, Ghana

 41.7% of children who die in the Upper East Region before their 5th birthday are claimed by malaria, the Regional Director of Health has disclosed.

According to Dr. John Koku Awoonor-Williams, malaria is also responsible for about 53.3% of all out-patient cases and 41.4% of all admissions in the region. Malaria infection during pregnancy, he added, also causes maternal anaemia and placenta risks to the mother, the foetus and the newborn.

The Regional Director made these known when he opened a six-day workshop on “Social and Behavioural Change Communication (SBCC) for Malaria Control and Prevention” in Bolgatanga, Upper East Regional capital. The workshop was organised by the Anglican Diocesan Development and Relief Organisation (ADDRO) in collaboration with the Episcopal Relief and Development for selected staff from the United States of America President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS).

Dr. Awoonor-Williams said since Ghana drew a ten-year strategic plan based on the Roll Back Malaria Strategy which the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched in 1998, the goals of the Upper East Region to reduce the burden of malaria by 50% by the year 2010 and by 75% by the year 2015 as inspired by the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) were still far from being reached despite various interventions.

“The only way to end death from malaria is to end malaria itself. We can start by reducing the number of infected mosquitoes. We can also keep mosquitoes from biting people. Equally, we can keep people who are bitten from getting infected. Finally, we can keep people who are infected from transmitting the parasites back to mosquitoes,” he recommended.

He also expressed worries that for close to two years now, no Long-Lasting Insecticide-Treated Nets (LLITNs) have been received in the region through the regional health system. The Regional Director, however, commended ADDRO and other NGOs including “Nurses on Tour” for providing free insecticide-treated nets to needy communities in the region. 

The Regional Director lamented the shortages of Rapid Diagnostic Test Kits (RDTs) especially at the lower health facilities where laboratory services are lacking. He said the shortages had invariably contributed to several cases being suspected and classified as malaria simply because no tests are conducted. The situation, he observed, had been contributing to the ever-increasing figures. He entreated the general public to cooperate actively in the behavioural-change campaign against malaria since malaria control without the collective efforts of members of the society would remain impossible.

The Technical Director of Health for the Episcopal Relief and Development, Dr. Stephen Dzisi, said the workshop was one of the numerous health-centred activities that were being funded through a grant secured in 2009 by the Episcopal Relief and Development under the PMI.

He further made it known that his outfit had been providing partners with financial and technical assistance through its Malaria Community Programme (MCP). The programme, he said, was to help reduce the burden of malaria and other diseases in the communities where the programme had empowered the people. The Bawku West and the Garu-Tempane Districts are the only two areas where the programme is being undertaken in the region.

Recounting the success stories in the two districts, Dr. Dzisi said the programme within the past two years had witnessed a momentous increase in the number of people that used the insecticide-treated nets and a significant drop in malaria deaths in the communities. “This shows that this programme has been successful towards reducing the burden of the disease in the various communities,” he said. He mentioned limited funding and lack of logistics as the major challenges to meeting the swelling demand from the other districts where malaria is also prevalent.

Mr. Moses Nanang, Malaria Programme Manager for ADDRO, said over 25,000 insecticide-treated nets had been properly distributed and appropriately hung by the 564 community volunteers that ADDRO had trained in 200 communities in the two districts. He made it known that the Malaria Community Programme sought to reach 280 communities in the two districts by the end of its 3-year lifespan. Mr. Nanang said it was time community members made constant use of the nets part of them, sought early treatment for children suspected to be suffering from malaria infection and encouraged their pregnant women to visit the hospital as required.