The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has announced the establishment of a bio-larvicide plant for the production of insecticide in Savelugu in the Northern Region.
The President said the establishment of the plant begins the extension of the cooperation between Ghana and Cuba, as regards the eradication of malaria in Ghana.
Making the revelation during his visit to Cuba, President Akufo-Addo observed that the project would be executed through a joint venture agreement with Labiofam S.A. in Cuba – producers of insecticide that is specifically targeted at the larval life stage of insects like mosquitoes.
“Soon through a joint venture agreement with Labiofam S.A., a bio-larvicide factory will be established in Savelugu in the Northern Region of Ghana,” he revealed.
Addressing the officials of Labiofam S.A. after a tour of the facility, President Akufo-Addo said that “Ghana spends a lot of money in the fight against malaria, and that is why when I came here as Foreign Minister in 2006, I heard about you and took you to Ghana.”
“But before we could concretize everything, my party lost power in Ghana. So the push for this project went down. Fortunately for the fight against malaria, I’m back again – this time as president – no longer minister,” he added.
Anxious to get on with the construction of the bio-larvicide factory in Savelugu, the president pointed out that it would be a very fitting testimony to the 60 years of relations between Ghana and Cuba.
“Our relations with this country have been very good right from the beginning, and we have to always remember that Ghana was the very first African country to recognize the government of the Cuban Revolution. Establishing this plant in Ghana will strongly consolidate our relations,” he stressed.
The whole of Ghana is at risk of malaria, as the disease was responsible for 19% of all recorded deaths in Ghana in 2015.
However, malaria-attributable mortality has declined significantly from 19% (2010) to 4.2% (2016) and under five years fatality rate also declined from 15% to 11% from 2010 to 2016.
But malaria can be prevented with interventions like sleeping under insecticide-treated mosquito nets and larvicide control.
Therefore, the establishment of the bio-larvicide plant in Savelugu would provide a sustainable source of insecticide to further help control and ultimately eliminate malaria in Ghana.
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