$510million needed for 5-year National Malaria Control Programme

The Ghana Malaria Foundation (GMF) has launched a five-year fundraising campaign in partnership with the National Malaria Control Programme to support malaria programming, innovation in service provision and research into alternate means of malaria prevention and treatment in Ghana.

To achieve the five-year objective of $510m, the foundation is targeting private and public sector partners, international foundations and the general Ghanaian populace for support.

The funds to be raised will render aid either financially or by other means to hospitals, health and other agencies of government involved in the control of malaria and other related health issues in Ghana.

It will also be used to support the provision of research, advice, training, education and sensitisation on malaria and other related health risks in Ghana.

Speaking at the launch, Ghana Malaria Ambassador and Chairman of GMF, Mr Prince Kofi Amoabeng assured that GMF will provide full, accurate and timely disclosure of information in all its dealings with employees, stakeholders and the general public.

He noted that GMF will establish accounting and auditing systems to ensure efficient and effective use of funds to achieve agreed objectives.

Partners and donors, he added, will have access to financial statements online and on request through mail.

“GMF will harness ideas, resources and capabilities of all individuals and corporations who share in its vision and are willing to share the costs, benefits and responsibilities of the collaboration in a trusting and transparent manner,” he further assured.

Acting Programmes Manager of GMF, Dr Keziah Malm, in her remarks, mentioned that although much progress have been made over the years in managing the disease, there are still gaps to be filled and lives to be saved.

According to her, Ghana should be getting to an era when deaths from malaria and absenteeism from work due to malaria are rare events other than a norm.

To do this, she said, it needs to scale up the current interventions to ensure that all suspected cases are tested appropriately and timely treated.

She was, however, delighted to announce that routine data from District Health Information Management Systems (DHIMS) indicates a reduction in malaria mortality from 3,882 in 2010 to 1,264 in year 2016, translating into a 67% reduction.

Case fatality, according to the report, has also reduced from 144 deaths per 1000 cases in 2016.

The GMF was launched by the First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, on April 24 this year to lead in the mobilisation of more internal funding for the total elimination of the disease by 2030.

The GMF came about as a result of the search by stakeholders in malaria prevention and services for alternative ways to generate sustainable funding for programming in the face of dwindling donor funds, Ghana’s middle-income status, and demands for counterpart financing.

The goal of the foundation is to develop a sustainable resource base for the fight against malaria in Ghana using effective targeted communication and public relations.

It is also to solicit and manage resources to promote the objectives of the Ghana National Malaria Strategic Plan and National Malaria Control Programme in Ghana.