The Ghana Health Service in 2012 through United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) with support from Department for International Development (DFID) distributed millions of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLIN) to households in the Upper East Region to help fight malaria. However, some individuals with the excuse of the regions hot weather refuse to sleep under the nets at night while some unscrupulous individuals also convert the nets into football nets and hencoop.
This unapproved use of the nets contributed to the region recording 366,821 confirmed malaria cases last year as against 314,125 cases recorded in 2014. A total death due to malaria in the region recorded last year was 122 with 88 deaths recorded in 2014.
This worrying revelation was disclosed by Stephen Bordotsian, regional focal person on malaria during a day press briefing on a campaign on the use of long lasting insecticide nets.
According to Mr. Bordotsian, another factor that contributed to the region’s malaria prevalence increase was due to the folding up of Anglo Gold Ashanti malaria control activities and inadequate supplies of essential commodities for malaria control activities.
In order to help curb the spread of malaria, he disclosed that Ghana health service in partnership with Institute of Social Research and Development (ISRAD) Ghana with funding from UKaid will soon roll out the distribution of LLIN to maintain the universal coverage.
“So far we have received about 641,000 nets for the Upper East Region and will be distributed in the households in the region. Now the distribution is expected to take place next week Monday (25th January) to Sunday (31st January) at various health facilities in the region.”
Peter Boateng, Deputy Director of administration at the health directorate who urged community members to use the nets for its purpose assured individuals who were not covered during the mass distribution that the region has received enough nets for individuals entitled to.
A media briefing to promote campaign the use of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets was organized by the Institute of Social Research and Development (ISRAD) Ghana, Upper East Region.
ISRAD is a national and community based Non Governmental Organization (NGO) established in Ghana in 2006 to undertake integrated development research, design and manage development programs to improve the lives of people.
Upper East Regional coordinator of ISRAD, Abdul-Razak Issah in a presentation mentioned that the organization which operates in 100 communities in all the 13 districts in the Upper East Region is creating awareness among the general public about the link between mosquito bites and malaria.
He added that the project goal is to promote behavioral change among the general public to sleep under LLINs at all times and to educate the general public about the economic impact of malaria on the individual, family, community and the nation at large.
By: Joshua Asaah /A1RADIOONLINE.com / Ghana
