The Ghana Health Service (GHS), with support from National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), UNICEF, DFID, GFATM and other partners, will from today begin a household mass distribution of Long-lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) in the northern region.
About two million five hundred and sixty-eight thousand and twenty-two people registered under the LLINs project in nine communities in the northern region, are to benefit from the LLINs distribution campaign.
The distribution forms part of efforts to control malaria in the region and the country at large. The exercise is also to replace mosquito nets distributed by the programme three years ago with new nets to sustain the break in transmission of malaria-causing parasites from the female mosquito to humans.
LLINs are one of the most efficacious preventive interventions against malaria morbidity and mortality available to reduce malaria-related mortality by 75% from 2000 levels by 2020. In recent years, substantial gains have been made in moving towards the goal of universal coverage, in large part due to mass campaign distributions through which hundreds of millions of LLINs have been distributed in sub-Saharan Africa since 2002.
Evaluations of the early campaigns found that the use of LLINs tended to lag behind ownership. Novel and more intensive sensitization activities are now being integrated into mass campaigns such as house-to-house visits to ensure hang-up of campaign LLINs is completed and to encourage higher LLIN usage.
The distribution exercise is expected to end on the 25th of June 2018. A Health Promotion Officer at the Northern Regional Health Directorate, Mrs. Patience Buahin, giving details of the campaign, said about 1,462, 256 free mosquito nets will be distributed to people registered in the nine communities.
Mrs. Buahin disclosed that during the distribution exercise, the public will have to take their coupons to the various points for their nets. She indicated that the health officers upon receiving the coupons will give the individual the number of nets required per the data on the coupon free of charge.
She advised that everyone, especially pregnant women and children under five, sleep under treated mosquito nets to prevent malaria. Mrs. Buahin, also expressed her displeasure about how some people in their own way use the nets as the fence of their gardens, with others using them as fishing nets, and urged that the nets must be used for their intended purpose.
BY: LILIAN D. WALTER
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.