A Monitoring and evaluation specialist at the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) Samuel Oppong has said Ghana has seen a significant improvement in the prevalence of malaria over the years.
According to him, the overall prevalence level of malaria in the country currently stands at 14% from an initial 27% in 2011 which indicates that’s various strides taken against malaria by the NMCP programme and individuals are yielding results.
He said various interventions are currently being deployed by the National Malaria Control Programme to ensure that there is a rapid decline in the cases of malaria in the country especially the Northern Region.
He indicated that people are currently being advised to sleep under insecticide treated mosquito nets, IRS are being deployed in some parts of Northern region and Upper West regions to spray and kill the malaria parasites.
He revealed pregnant women are also being implored to take anti-malaria medicines to prevent themselves as well as their unborn babies from getting infected with malaria.
Questioned if Ghana is capable of achieving SDG goal 3 which aims at ending the epidermis of AIDS, Tuberclosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases by 2030, Samuel Oppong said the country may not be able to completely eradicate malaria related deaths by 2030 but it can be reduced.
According to him, malaria death cases might still be challenging due to some behavioral issues of individuals that still need to be tackled as a country.
By: Yasmine Ahmed Kanton
