3 children die of malaria everyday in Ghana– report

The National Malaria Control Program has revealed that three out of five children die of malaria every day in Ghana. Ghana is one of the top ten countries that contribute to the world malaria burden.

In 2015, 39 percent of OPD cases recorded were from malaria, resulting in high risk of infant and maternal mortality cases.

The reasons for this trend have been attributed to negative attitude towards the fight of malaria.

But the health minister, Alex Segbefia at the launch of a national campaign against malaria says Ghana can be declared malaria free in five years if preventive measures are adhered to.

Despite various interventional measures to fight malaria, research indicates malaria kills one child every 30 seconds, translating into about 3,000 children dying every day in Africa.

Apart from malaria killing millions of people, the country loses over 20 million cedis annually to less productivity and absenteeism of malaria patients from work.

It also affects the brain functioning of children in their education.

At a campaign for the use of insecticide treated nets to combat malaria, the country representative for UNICEF, Susan Ngombi explained insecticide treated nets avert about 50 percent of malaria cases.

The representative for UKAID, Shamuel Issa encouraged individuals to contribute in the fight against malaria by sleeping under the insecticide treated nets and assured of more interventions to fight the disease.