Anglican Diocesan Organisation distributes treated mosquito nets in UER

Duusi (U/E), Oct. 16, GNA - The Anglican Diocesan Development and Relief Organisation (ADDRO) on Wednesday began a programme to distribute Insecticide Treated Mosquito Nets (ITN) to selected communities in the Upper East Region, under a malaria prevention and control programme. The programme, which is dubbed: "One-is-to-one bednet," is designed to target residents at Talensi-Nabdam, Bawku West and Builsa districts, where each person would be given an ITN bednet for free as part of strategies to reduce the disease significantly in the next five years.

The first phase of the programme is to ensure that pregnant women, children under five, the aged and vulnerable in society that cover about 70 per cent of the population, has access to a bednet while the rest of the community members are taken care of in the next phase.

The programme is funded by the Episcopal Relief and Development programme, a United States based charity organisation and other corporate donors, including Coca Cola, Standard Chartered Bank and EXXoMobil. ADDRO would organise community sensitisation durbars to educate the people on the causes of malaria and its prevention, including net use, replacement of damaged betnets, constant monitoring of the use of the bednet and evaluation of usage among other things.

ADDRO's strategies for preventing malaria at the community level has been recognized by international donors and recommended as one of the most effective and trusted ways of reducing the disease.

Mr. Titus Alzumah, Regional Manager of the Malaria Control and Prevention Programme, told the Ghana News Agency at the maiden distribution of the nets at Duusi in the Talensi-Nabdam District, that his outfit was adding more communities to the programme, to ensure that within the five- year period malaria would reduce significantly.

He indicated that the programme would distribute about 7,000 nets and monitor their usage to ensure that community members were free from mosquito bites and malaria.

Mr. Alzumah observed that malaria was partly responsible for the chronic poverty ravaging in the region and said a successful fight against it would be key to reducing the menace, checking malnutrition and ensuring high productivity.

He said the communities ADDRO operate in were very remote where traditional health providers such as the Ghana Health Service hardly reached.

"We all have to appreciate that these people are Ghanaians too and are entitled to good health care so. as a Christian organisation we ignore all the odds and serve the people," he said. The Regional Manager listed some of beneficiary communities as: Biund, Tolla, Batiela and Degaare in the Talensi-Nabdam District, Zangbeyire, Ziboko, Bulinga, Dagunga, Apodabog in the Bawku West District and Kalasa, Kom, Achang-Yerigoyire and Gbedembilisi in the Builsa District. 16 Oct. 09