Malaria cases reduce at Sing

Residents of Sing in the Wa Municipality, who used to record high incidence of malaria cases, are full of praises for the Ghana Health Services for providing them with treated mosquito nets.

The community which used to record high incidence of malaria cases resulting in many children and pregnant women falling sick, has experienced a remarkable reduction in malaria cases through the use of treated bednets.

This was made known at a forum organised by the Ghana Health Service and UNICEF to celebrate the achievement of the inhabitants of Sing on Tuesday,

Naa Mahama Adama, Chief of Sing said malaria had been the headache of the inhabitants as it affected several people, especially pregnant women and children in the community.

“The people of Sing are most grateful to the Ghana Health Service and UNICEF for providing us with the needed materials to reduce malaria in the community”, Naa Adama said.

Dr. Abdulai Forgor, Upper West Regional Director of Health Services, said the Ghana health Service had put several interventions in place including the use of intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women, indoor residual spraying of homes by the AngloGold Ashanti Malaria Control Programme and the distribution of long lasting insecticide nets in 2012 with support from UNICEF to help reduce the incidence of malaria in the communities.

He said many communities in the region were encouraged to cultivate the habit of sleeping under treated mosquito nets to prevent them from getting malaria by introducing the” keep it up” campaign to enable the community members take up that behaviour of always sleeping in long lasting insecticides nets in the night.

The regional director said a survey was organised in 2013 to find out which community was the best in the use of treated nets in all the districts of the region, and that Sing was selected among other communities.

Sing was chosen as the second best community in the use of LLINs in the Region and due to that, the community was awarded with a computer and its accessories by UNICEF for using treated nets.

A seasonal malaria chemo-prevention (SMC) campaign was launched last week to prevent malaria among children between ages of three and 59 months in the region as another strategy to reduce malaria.

Dr Abdulai congratulated the Community Health Attendants for their efforts in helping the Ghana Health Service frontline staff to deliver health services to the people.

Two workers who had been adjudged the best community health attendants in the area were given a bicycle each as a token for the invaluable service and contribution they had made to enhance healthcare delivery in the community.