Sankofa embarks on mosquito control project

Amanase (E/R), Dec. 22, GNA- The Abibiman Sankofa Cultural Movement (ASCUM), a Community-Based Organisation (CBO) has embarked on a mosquito control project in all the communities of the Movement, with a view to preventing malaria infection among the people. This is aimed at emphasising malaria prevention methods through the elimination of the vector, as the best alternative to controlling the disease in view of the increasing resistance of plasmodium, the malaria parasite, to some drugs and therefore, makes curative care more expensive.

To this end, all communities (Units) of ASCUM, with the supervision of their respective executives, had intensified good sanitation practices, aimed at discouraging mosquito breeding.

Mr Freeman Madzi, Executive Director of ASCUM, who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency at Amanase, Headquarters of the Movement in the Eastern Region on Friday, said within the current rainy season, all communities the Units would undertake surveillance on possible breeding sites of mosquito with the view to destroying them. He stressed the need for individuals and communities to adopt sound environmental management by dredging areas with stagnated waters and the clearing of bushy surroundings.

Alhaji Alhassan, Project Co-ordinator of the Movement, said malaria control was still a problem, because it was treated as a health problem with too much emphasis on drugs for treatment, instead of preventing the multiplication of the agent of the disease.

He therefore, called on community leaders, churches, Non-Governmental Organisations to join the campaign against poor sanitation, by organising regular participatory neighbourhood cleaning exercises and sharing knowledge on mosquito control with others. The project was under the sponsorship of the executive members of ASCUM.

Mr Lord de-Graft Aikins, Co-ordinating Director of the Movement, said the programme had come at the right time and that the Movement had over 850 members from 24 Units (branches) in the Suhum Kraboa Coaltar District, who were mostly poor farmers and potters. He appealed to the Danish Agency for International Development (DANIDA) to support the CBO in its quest to help improve the living conditions of the people. 22 Dec. 07