AGA courts for support to eradicate malaria

AngloGold Ashanti (AGA), a multinational mining organisation, has commemorated World Malaria Day at Fomena in the Adansi North District of the Ashanti Region, with a call on residents of Adansi to rally behind the AngloGold Ashanti Malaria Control Limited (AGAMAL) programme, to eradicate malaria from the catchment areas of AGA.
In a message which was delivered on behalf of the Sustainability Manager of AGA by Mr Emmanuel Oduro Agyei, the Stakeholder Engagement Superintendent, he appealed to the people of Adansi to close their ranks and forge ahead in the battle against malaria.
Part of combating the malaria parasite, according to him, is to keep their environment clean, a trait which he stated would help to make the environment uncomfortable for the malarial parasites to breed.

According to Oduro Agyei, because of the laudable strides of AGA in Sustainable Development Strategy, it has attracted support from the global fund, which has aided his outfit to extend AGAMAL’s tentacles to other parts of Ghana, including the northern regions, where they carried out mass spraying exercises in houses and other places.
He announced that the marking of the Global Malaria Day coincides with the AGAMAL-AGA’s malaria control programme, which is fifteen years.
The function was under the theme: “Zero Malaria – Draw the Line Against Malaria.” A malaria test was conducted at the event, where the paramount Chief of Adansi Traditional Area, Opagyakotwere Bonsra Afriyie II and a section of his entourage were screened to establish if they have malaria parasites in their system.
The Stakeholder Engagement Superintendent at AGA attributed the reduction in malaria cases in their catchment areas to AGAMAL.

Oduro Agyei announced that AGA remains committed to the fight against malaria, adding that apart from the sickness which is caused by the plasmodium parasite, it also causes lower productivity on the socio-economic factor of the affected individual.

He subsequently called on all stakeholders including traditional leaders, district assemblies and others to work hard for the fight against malaria to be an achievable goal in the catchment areas of AGA.

“Let us continue to support the mine; if the mine attains a good standing, the Adansi enclave will be part of the success story. We are still on a mission, let us all get on board to help curb malaria disease from our environment”, he said.
On his part, Mr Isaac Awuku Odame, the District Director of Health Services stated that, the objective as a District Health service is to make sure that cases of malaria are reduced to their barest minimum, including death cases.

Reduction of morbidity and sickness

He mentioned at the event that the Commemoration of the World Malaria Day seeks to test, treat and track, adding that these three ‘Ts’ are crucial.
Delivering a malaria situational report, Mr Isaac Awuku revealed that in the past three years, malaria cases have been the topmost Out-Patient Department (OPD) attendances.
According to Awuku Odame, this development has persisted over the last three years, however, he noted that malaria cases had reduced in the Adansi North.
He said: “If you look at 2018, we recorded 16,009 cases. In 2019, we had 13,269 and 11,354 cases in 2020.”
On antenatal care, where preventive therapy is given to pregnant women, Isaac Awuku noted that 47 per cent of pregnant women underwent antenatal care, against 45 per cent. This intervention, he noted, helped to prevent stillbirth occurrences in the district.
He continued that trend of malaria in the district is going down in Adansi, a feat, he attributed to AGA and other stakeholders.

However, he indicated that whiles malaria cases were plummeting, severe malaria cases are surging, which had resulted in increment in malaria admission cases.

This trend, Director Odame indicated, started from 2018, where they had 334 severe malaria cases. The figure jumped to   417 patients in 2019 and 577 in 2020.

Opagyakotwere Bonsra Afriyie II, the paramount chief of Adansi Traditional Area  premised his address on the three ‘Ts’ namely : Test, Treat and Trace and lauded the AGA for providing a lot of interventions aimed at curbing the malaria disease to its barest minimum.
He however noted that many are people who fail to report to the hospital for test when they are not feeling well.

He urged the district health directorate to up their surveillance to be able to eradicate malaria out of Ghana by 2025.
While Bonsra Afriyie II acknowledged the AGA for their unflinching quest to win the battle against malaria, he asked the people of Adansi and Ghanaians in general what they are doing to complement the crusade.
He said: “The larger problem is associated with the masses. Today, after someone has legally acquired a parcel of land from a traditional leader, he goes to the assembly for a permit to build, but the building is bereft of basic amenities such as bathroom, toilet. Such person is looking up to the state to provide it, before they can have access to these services.”
He noted that even in Kumasi, people connect their sewage to public drain and they do not care a hoot about the repercussions on the society.

In the company’s 2004 Report to Society, malaria was identified as the most significant public health threat to AngloGold Ashanti’s operations in Ghana, Mali, Guinea and Tanzania. AGA realised the adverse impact malaria was having on its Ghanaian business operations, workforce and people in its operational community.

Areas around Obuasi were particularly vulnerable because of “galamsay”, often unregulated surface mining.

Galamsay provides both a sanctuary for mosquito breeding as well as a threat to malaria vector control intervention. 48% of all patients in health facilities in Obuasi were diagnosed with malaria. Malaria was one of the top 10 killer diseases around Obuasi, accounting for 22% of deaths.

The post AGA courts for support to eradicate malaria appeared first on The Chronicle Online.

Read Full Story