Volunteers undergo training -In malaria prevention

01/01/08
Article: Salome Donkor
Malaria is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in Ghana, directly contributing to poverty,
low productivity, and reduced school attendance. According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), between 3-3.5 million cases of malaria are reported each year. The disease accounts for more than 61 per cent of hospital admissions of children under five years, and 8 per cent of admissions of pregnant women.
In support of the national malaria prevention programmes the United States Government announced in December 2006, that Ghana had been selected as one of the eight countries to benefit from an initiative to rapidly scale up malaria prevention and treatment interventions in countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where the disease was most prevalent under a five-year, $1.2 billion project.
The most up-to-date information on nation-wide coverage of key malaria prevention and control
measures in Ghana comes from a Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, conducted from August to
early October 2006, which indicates that approximately 30 per cent of households reportedly own at least one bed net (of any type) while almost 19 per cent reportedly own one or more insecticide-treated nets (ITN).
In order to extend the reach of malaria interventions to the community level, the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) was instituted to reduce malaria mortality by 50 per cent in vulnerable
groups, namely pregnant women, children under five years of age, and people living with HIV/AIDS.
This will be accomplished by achieving 85 per cent coverage of groups at risk of malaria with four key
interventions which are the use of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) for malaria in pregnancy, use of ITNs, and indoor spraying with residual insecticides (IRS).
Another goal of the PMI is to strengthen and improve the capacity of indigenous non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to undertake malaria prevention and control activities under the
leadership of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP).
In pursuit of this objective the Central Medical Laboratories in Accra has organised a two-day workshop on malaria prevention and cure for 50 voluntary home-based care assistants.
The participants were equipped with skills to enable them enlighten residents of some communities on the use of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITN), as a key component of malaria prevention in Ghana and intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) for pregnant women to avoid the fatalities associated with malaria in pregnancy.
The participants also constituted a corps of home-based care assistants, trained by officials of the laboratory to step up malaria prevention campaigns in the communities and to offer home-based care.
According to Mr M.O Mensah, the Managing Director of the Central Medical Laboratories, the workshop, organised under the auspices of the NMCP was followed up with educational campaigns on malaria prevention in some churches, mosque and markets at Agege, Gbwebgeisee, Russia, Lanteyman, Chorkor and some community along the beaches in Accra, where malaria is prevalent.
He said the organisation provided a number of insecticide treated mosquito nets to the residents of the communities and screened films on malaria prevention measures and treatment in support of the educational campaign.
Mr Mensah advised residents to keep their environments clean to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes that cause malaria, as a way of leading healthy lives.
He said if people did not desist from poor environmental management attitude, the use of artesunate amodiaquine, the approved drug for the treatment of malaria by the World Health Organisation (WHO) malaria would not be effective.
He also advised patients to finish the course of drugs prescribed for the treatment of malaria to prevent, drug abuse.