Ghana’s excessive malaria burden, the nation has the potential to eliminate malaria, Professor Fred Binka, a famend professor of scientific epidemiology, has mentioned.
He mentioned that with the appropriate sources and dedication, Ghana might be a part of the ranks of nations which have efficiently eradicated the illness.
“The principle problem going through Ghana’s malaria elimination efforts is the shortage of monetary sources to acquire needed commodities and implement the nationwide malaria elimination plan,” Prof. Binka mentioned.
Prof. Binka, a former Vice Chancellor of the College of Well being and Allied Sciences, made these remarks in an unique interview with The Ghanaian Occasions in Accra on Monday.
Prof. Binka mentioned “Ghana can get rid of malaria. However in case you ask me at the moment whether or not Ghana can get rid of malaria, I’d say no. There are simply too many issues which have occurred since this plan was established that doesn’t augur properly for our elimination of malaria.’’
He mentioned “what’s required is to have the ability to make the sources obtainable in order that we will implement the technical programme that’s outlined in our plan.
“The federal government should realise that it has a dedication to get rid of malaria, and there will likely be an financial acquire if we get rid of malaria.”
Prof. Binka, who’s credited for main a groundbreaking Mosquito Bednet Examine on the Navrongo Well being Analysis Centre within the early ‘90s, harassed the necessity to decentralise the implementation of malaria interventions to the district degree, permitting for extra focused and efficient efforts.
Talking on the theme of this 12 months’s World Malaria Day celebration, “Malaria Ends With Us: Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite”, Prof. Binka mentioned it was a clarion name to refocus on malaria and commit sources to get rid of the illness.
He acknowledged that Ghana’s dependence on external funding for its well being finances had resulted in important challenges, notably with the latest standstill of the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) as a consequence of funding points in the USA.
Prof. Binka additionally disclosed that the counstrive has confronted shortages of important malaria commodities, together with insecticide-treated nets and anti-malaria medicine, as a consequence of delays in clearing shipments from ports.
He emphasised the necessity to decentralise malaria interventions to the district degree, permitting for extra focused and efficient efforts.
Prof. Binka harassed the significance of group engagement and participation in Ghana’s malaria elimination efforts, saying that people might contribute their quota by sleeping underneath handled mosquito nets and searching immediate therapy when signs come up.
He mentioned “with the appropriate sources and commitment, Ghana can be a part of the ranks of countries which have efficiently eradicated malaria.”
In accordance with the Nationwide Malaria Management Programme, Ghana recorded fewer than 300 malaria deaths final 12 months, representing a significant decline from over 2,000 a decade in the past.
Additionally, the nation, based on the professionalgramme, lowered parasite prevalence from 28 per cent in 2021 to about 9 per cent in 2022.
Malaria is a life-threatening illness attributable to the feminine anopheles mosquito, and it’s a main public well being drawback in Ghana with girls, and youngsters underneath 5 years most susceptible to the ailments.
At the moment, Ghana has launched malaria vaccine into its routine immunisation programme along with different preventive instruments, to assist curb malaria deaths, particularly amongst kids underneath 5 years.
Moreover, Ghana is pursuing Nationwide Malaria Elimination Strategic Plan 2024-2028 to scale back dying as a consequence of malaria by 100 per cent by 2028 and instances by 50 per cent, with a shift in focus from management to disruption of transmission.
The methods embody strengthening surveillance, bettering case administration, and implementing indoor residual spraying and seasonal malaria chemoprevention in extremely endemic areas.
BY CYNTHIA ASAMPANA
