It is important that Ghana joins the global community and celebrates today’s World Malaria Day (WMD), “Malaria Ends With Us: Reinvestment, Rethinking, Reflagration”, and that the country recommends itself to eliminate disease.
Despite progress in the fight against malaria, the disease is one of the nation’s most sustained public health challenges, with significant costs especially for children and pregnant women.
The National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) reported that fewer than 300 malaria-related deaths were recorded last year.
Furthermore, the prevalence rate fell from 28% in 2021 to about 9% in 2022. This is admirable, but it doesn’t mean the fight is over.
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Recent disruptions with the US International Development Agency’s (USAID) global health program, particularly the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), have revealed the country’s vulnerability regarding the disease.
USAID has long been one of the biggest investors in global health, and Ghana remains a key beneficiary. This disruption in the support flow has serious consequences, especially given the country’s heavily reliant on external funding for health.
This distraction has begun to show its impact and delay in the removal of cargo of essential malaria products such as insecticide-treated nets and anti-malarial drugs, leading to shortages.
Not only is this situation surprising, it also emphasizes the urgent need for countries reassessing malaria elimination strategies.
These developments highlight the urgent truth, according to Professor Fred Newton Binka, one of Ghana’s well-known epidemiologists.
In a recent interview with the Ghanaian era, he reiterated the need for the country to tackle new challenges with urgency.
Professor Vinca warned that despite the country’s potential to eliminate malaria, current resource constraints have severely limited progress, and advised that the government must acquire ownership of malaria elimination efforts to move forward.
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This means investing local resources, prioritizing malaria within the national health budget, and implementing decentralization to district levels where coordinated interventions could have the greatest impact.
The well-known doctor also argued for community involvement in the fight against malaria, stressing that “actual changes occur when individuals take responsibility – to seek early treatment using the treated net.”
The Ghanaian era relates to Professor Vinka’s position that eliminating malaria is not only a health obligation but also an economic concern.
The cost of inaction is measured not only by lost living but also by productivity drainage and excessive stretching of the healthcare system.
In the Ghanaian era, the appeal for “reinvestment, reimagining, re-flame” is more than a theme. It is Clarion’s call to renew the urgency and commitment to the fight against malaria.
Ghana has already shown that progress is possible, and now it is time to double. The country must diversify its funding sources, diversify its approaches, and strengthen its communities as active partners in the elimination of malaria.
Malaria ends with us – if we act boldly, invest wisely, and maintain our course.
