Growing Artemisinin resistance in Africa threatening Ghana’s fight against malaria – Experts  

Health experts have raised concerns about the growing threat of artemisinin resistance in Africa, warning that Ghana risks losing decades of progress in malaria control if urgent investments are not made in surveillance, research, and community education.  

Speaking at a high-level dialogue on malaria elimination on the sidelines of the ICASA 2025 conference, Dr. Felicia Antwi, WHO Country Representative for Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases, said emerging mutations of the malaria parasite were gradually weakening the potency of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), which have been the world’s most effective malaria medicines for the past years.  

She indicated that countries, including Rwanda, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda had already reported increasing trends of partial resistance, adding that with high regional mobility and increased air travel, the entire continent was now at risk.  

“The medicines we rely on are becoming gradually ineffective because the parasites are learning to overcome them.   

If we lose these ACTs, we lose our strongest line of defence.  We will see more severe cases, more deaths, overcrowded health facilities, and higher out-of-pocket payments for households,” she said.  

Dr. Antwi stressed that although tools and guidelines for detecting resistance existed, many African countries were unable to conduct surveillance due to a lack of funding, urging African governments to take ownership of malaria research, education, and monitoring activities to address drug resistance.  

She expressed worry about poor treatment adherence, self-medication, and the circulation of fake or substandard drugs worsening the threat.  

Dr. Hilarius Abiwu, Programme Manager of the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), described malaria as the single disease consuming the largest share of Ghana’s health budget.  

“The malaria programme spends an average of US$100million annually on interventions, with 60 per cent of it funded by the Global Fund, while the government contributes the remaining 40 per cent,” he said..  

He cautioned that drug resistance could sharply increase treatment costs, noting that past drugs once priced under US$1 have been replaced by far more expensive ACTs due to earlier resistance.  

“If we fail to protect the medicines we have now, Ghana will pay multiple times more just to treat malaria. This is why we need investments not only from government and global partners, but also from the private sector,” he added  

Dr. Abiwu cited examples of mining companies such as AngloGold Ashanti, which significantly reduced malaria-related sick days after investing in vector control and called for a multi-sectoral approach, highlighting the role of agriculture, sanitation, transport, and tourism in either worsening or reducing mosquito breeding risks.  

“Agricultural activities are contributing to the problem we are having with malaria, because they do irrigation, which is a breeding ground for mosquitoes. We are talking about open drains that are filled with a lot of water and become breeding places.   

“We have lorry tyres in the transport sector which is one of the biggest breeding places for mosquitoes. So, the transport sector and environment is important.   

In tourism, people coming into this country are bringing in some of these parasites, which can be transmitted to us very easily. So, the only way we can get ahead of the game is to make sure that we make the appropriate investments,” Dr Abiwu stated.  

The Programme Manager said that the NMEP was constantly watching out to detect dangers and intervening early to prevent bigger problems at hand.  

Mrs. Cecilia Senoo, Executive Director of Hope for Future Generations (HFFG), called for stronger collaboration with civil society, arguing that malaria control efforts remained overly centralised.  

“Malaria elimination cannot succeed when key partners are sidelined. Civil society, manufacturers, mothers, community leaders, and the media all have critical roles. We need innovative strategies for prevention and sustained education,” she said.  

She also urged the government to invest in malaria research and scale up the malaria vaccination programme, stressing that Ghana must not rely solely on donor funding.  

Mrs Senoo also called for stronger collaboration with the private sector, particularly the mining sector to contribute to the fight against malaria.  

Source: GNA  

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