Ghana’s malaria elimination agenda a bold step – WHO

Dr Felicia Owusu-Antwi, a representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has described Ghana’s malaria elimination agenda as a bold step.

“Most countries are in the control stage, so Ghana’s quest to pursue malaria elimination is a bold step in the right direction,” she said.

Globally, malaria trends kept going up and dropping making its control very difficult; however, with Ghana’s situation elimination was possible.

Dr Owusu-Antwi was making a presentation on the global malaria situation at a two-day workshop for journalists across the country including members of the malaria media coalition, in Accra.

She said the WHO was ready to support Ghana’s elimination efforts with a strategic framework to maximise impact of the lifesaving interventions, harnessing innovation and expanding research.

The training was organised by the Ghana Health Service under the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) as part of reorientation from the malaria control stage to elimination stage with stakeholders.

It sought to increase the capacity of journalist’s as key partners towards the elimination agenda on the theme: “Role of the Media in Malaria Elimination.”

Dr Paul Boateng, the Head of Case Management, NMEP, mentioned that all interventions for the malaria control such as sleeping under insecticide treated bednets and testing before treatment remained relevant in the elimination agenda.

He explained that testing before treatment and taking the full course of the treatment would prevent drug resistance and urged the public to priotise testing before treatment.

In the face of elimination, he emphasized the critical need of focusing on sustainable interventions such as behavioural change, adding: “That’s where the critical role of the media in churning out accurate information comes to play.”

Source: GNA

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