Let�s Intensify The Campaign To Bring Down Malaria - Lecturer

A lecturer at University of Cape Coast School of Medical Science, Dr (Mrs) Obiri Yeboah, has called for the stepping up of the campaign to roll back malaria that is the leading cause of death in children under age five. The disease also account for nine per cent of deaths in women. Dr (Mrs) Yeboah said efforts must be re-doubled to get more people, especially children and pregnant mothers, to sleep in treated mosquito bed nets. Additionally, the promotion of environmental sanitation should be made a �core priority� by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies. She was addressing the 30th Annual National Health Week celebration of the Medical Students Association, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) at Asante-Mampong. Dr (Mrs) Yeboah said medical research painted a gloomy picture of one child under age five dying in every minute in tropical countries including Ghana if malaria is not brought under effective control by 2015. She said it was for this reason that everything must be done to destroy mosquito bleeding grounds by insisting that people keep their surroundings clean.Mr Francis Addai Nimoh, the Member of Parliament for Mampong, put Ghana�s annual expenditure on malaria prevention and treatment at 700 million dollars and said it was time the people kept high standards of environmental sanitation. He praised the students for the awareness creation and education on the disease�s prevention. The Sekyere West Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Daniel Apau Ohyeaman, urged the people who have not yet registered with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to do so. Mr Bright Hayford, a Health Officer at the KNUST, said the association has targeted to reach out to about eight million Ghanaians, in both rural and urban areas, with education on how to avoid the disease. As part of the celebration, the association distributed more than 800 treated mosquito bed nets and provided free health screening for the people.