Parents urged to sleep under treated net

Accra, May 22, GNA - Dr Constance Bart-Plange, the Manager of National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), has asked beneficiaries of Insecticide Treated Net (ITN) to use the nets for the purpose of malaria prevention.

She said people should desist from using the nets for fishing, fencing of farms and gardens among others but rather for malaria prevention.

Dr Bart-Plange, who gave the advice at the launch of the Ghana 2017 primary schools free ITNs distribution campaign, said the unacceptable practice must be stopped in all communities.

She said this was the fourth in the series of the campaign being launched and it was expected to distribute 1.3 million nets to class two and six pupils throughout the country.

She said 73 per cent of households had benefited from the initiative and it was anticipated that more of the people would be using the nets, but that was not the case as 50 per cent of the citizenry sleep without the use of the nets.

She noted that malaria was the leading cause of diseases and therefore urged the people to sleep in the mosquito nets every night to help prevent malaria as it was killing 1000's of Ghanaians.

Mr Robert P. Jackson, the US Ambassador, said defeating malaria in Ghana would save lives and stimulate global economic growth.

He said America in the 1940's was plagued by malaria and with similar strategies under the National Malaria Eradication Programme they were able to permanently eradicate malaria in 1951.

'I believe, if we all work together, we can do the same in every corner of the world. The point is we can stamp out malaria for good,' he said.

Mr Jackson said the NMCP reported that malaria cases declined from nine million in 2013 when the initiative started to less than six million in 2016.

The number of deaths is still too many and advised partners not to grow complacent but rather must do their part if they truly want to defeat malaria, he stated.

He said according to statistics, significant reductions in malaria mortality have been observed with the institutional case fatality rate among children under five declining from 14.1 to 0.6 per cent in 2012.

He however, encouraged the pupils to know that by receiving these nets- they were taking an important step toward protecting their health and well-being and urged them to be ambassadors to their parents and ensure they use the nets.

Mrs Tina Mensah, the Deputy Minister of Health, commended efforts of all partners for helping Ghana control and prevent malaria.

She said treated nets costs a lot of money and advised families and parents to take care of it and ensure that their wards sleep under the nets.

Madam Beatrice Zalia Ali, In-charge of Supplies and Logistics, Ghana Education Service, said prevention of malaria among school children was an important responsibility.

She said 2,000 teachers, nurses, cultural officers, health promoters among others have been given orientation to help in the nets distribution process.

Nii Okwei Kinka Dowouna VI, Osu Mantse, said as traditional leaders they were not only custodians of the land but also the keepers of the people, and their well-being mattered to them.

He said the campaign was of great importance to them because no chief would be happy to preside over a society of sick people, but interested in leading people who were healthy and productive.

'We are keenly interested in ensuring the age-old disease of malaria is effectively fought and defeated, it has stayed for too long with us and deserves to be kicked out,' he said.

GNA

By Samira Larbie/Mercy Manukure, GNA