The Adansi North District Health Director, Mr. Isaac Awuku Odame, has revealed that there has been an uptick in malaria cases in the Adansi North District, recording 13,686 diseases in 2021.
According to him, in 2019 and 2020, the district recorded 12,000 and 11,354 malaria cases respectively; however, in 2021 cases jumped to 13, 686.
Mr. Awuku Odame further revealed that, per the statistics, the number of people who visited the hospital in Adansi North, from areas such as Fomena, Akrokeri and other towns in the district stood at 25,706, out of which 13,686 tested positive for the disease, representing 53% of the total number of people who tested positive for malaria, having gone through a rigorous malaria testing.
He made these revelations when AngloGold Ashanti observed this year’s World Malaria Day, which was held at Adansi North Community of Dompoase in the Ashanti Region, under the theme: ‘Advance Equity. Build Resilience. End Malaria’.
As part of the celebration, AGA, through its Wellness foundation, screened over 1,000 residents in its catchment areas.
The event brought together stakeholders, such as AGA Malaria Control Ltd., AGA Health Foundation, GIZ Developers Programme, Adansi-North District Assembly, Dompoase Traditional Council, and Adansi North Directorate of Health and Education, to observe the World Malaria Day
The Adansi North District Director of Health expressed worry over the rising cases in malaria, saying it was an indication that the people in district do not take malaria prevention seriously.
He mentioned that in 2021, through the assistance of AGA, the directorate distributed 28,000 mosquito treated nets out of 29,000 to residents of Adansi North alone.
He stressed that the people of Adansi North must visit the health facilities when they are ill, and must protect themselves from the disease by sleeping in treated mosquito nets.
He advised the people to take malaria prevention very seriously, as the world celebrates World Malaria Day 2022, so that in future, Adansi North could become one of the communities in Ghana as a case study in eradication of malaria.
Touching on national statistics, Mr. Awuku Odame disclosed that, the World Health Organisation projected that Ghana’s malaria outlook would reach 5million and this indeed went beyond the anticipated figure.
He mentioned that 5.7million people in Ghana contracted malaria in 2021, with a corresponding fatality figure of 308, making the country the tenth most endemic malaria country in the world.
He further revealed that according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the West African nations contributed 2% of global malaria cases, a situation he bemoaned was bad for the sub-region, and should be corrected.
On the global front, he revealed that 241million people were infected with the disease globally, adding that 627,000 deaths occurred in the name of the plasmodium variant disease. But there are means that can be used to address this challenge using European nations and communist republic of China as a yardstick.
In an address delivered on behalf of the Sustainability Manager of AGA by Mr Emmanuel Oduro Agyei, he noted that as they mark the World Malaria Day, it was important they drum home the need to safeguard their environment against the disease for a healthy life.
He subsequently appealed to the people to keep their surroundings clean in order to help make the eradication of malaria a reality.
AngloGold Ashanti continues to implement its flagship Malaria Programme through AGAMAL, which is recognised across the globe as a strong and highly professional Private Sector entity in the fight against malaria.
The AGA malaria control programme started in 2006, in an attempt to cure the malaria disease, which was affecting staff of the company.
Owing to the laudable strides of AGA in Sustainable Development Strategy, it has attracted support from the global fund AGA, which has aided AGA to extend AGAMAL’s tentacles to other parts of Ghana, including the Northern Region; citing three districts in the Upper East, namely Builsa North, Builsa South and Kassena Nankana West, where they carried out mass spraying exercise in houses and other places.
Through this intervention, more than 1,177,450 people in 159,355 households across all operational areas are protected from malaria annually.
