Ghana records consistent reduction in malaria-related deaths

Dr Constance Bart-Plange, the Malaria Control Programme Manager, said the number of people who died from malaria had fallen drastically since 2010 and cases were also steadily declining.

She said there had been a 45 per cent reduction in malaria-related deaths from 2010 to 2015, due to improved case management.

In 2011 there were about 3,197 deaths representing 18.1 per cent as against 3,882 representing 19.5 per cent in 2010, and a further reduction from 2,985 which was 12.5 per cent in 2013, to 2,799 representing 12.6 in 2012.

She said the figures saw further downward trends recording 2,200 deaths representing 7.2 per cent in 2014 and subsequently 2,137 which was seven per cent in 2015.

There has also been a consistent reduction in national malaria prevalence.

Dr Bart-Plange, addressing the monthly health promotion, said the programme, on the theme: “End Malaria for Good; Invest in Malaria,” was achievable with the right approaches and sustained collaboration from stakeholders.

“We can win the fight against malaria. We have the right tools and our defences are working. But we still need to get those tools to a lot more people if we are to make these gains sustainable,” she said.

She said the programme formed part of this year’s World Malaria Day which would be commemorated globally on April 25.

The celebration forms part of the global efforts to combat one of the worlds’ most dreaded diseases which does not only threaten economic development but also frustrates health systems of countries, especially those in Africa, South of the Sahara, including Ghana.

Dr Bart-Plange called on stakeholders to sustain their collaboration and support in order to sustain the gains made with regards to reducing the rate of malaria-related deaths.

She said interventions and preventive strategies such as the increase to access and distribution of Insecticide Treated Bed Nets to vulnerable groups, Indoor Residual Spraying, Intermittent Preventive Treatment in Pregnancy, Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention as well as diagnosis and treatment, were contributory factors to the consistent reduction in malaria deaths over the period.

Dr Bart-Plange, however, warned the public against self-medication to prevent drug resistance and visit credible health institutions for proper diagnosis and treatment.

She called on the business community to expand their corporate social responsibilities by investing in malaria control and preventive strategies and called on traditional authorities, especially queen mothers, to insist on environmental and personal hygiene in their communities to sustain the gains.

Dr Badu Sarkodie, the Director of Public Health Division of the Ghana Health Service, said the theme suggested great confidence in the fight against the scourge and called for accelerated efforts to meet the goals set in the National Strategic Plan 2014 to 2020 which was to reduce the disease and its related deaths by 75 per cent.