Malaria kills 28 in Ashanti Region
At least 28 in-patients died from malaria out of 26,038 cases admitted and treated at the various health facilities in the Ashanti Region in the first half of 2018.
With children under five years, 30 died in 2016 and 8 died in 2017 from the preventable condition under the same period.
Out of 24,221 and 22,216 adults who were diagnosed of malaria and got admitted during the same period in 2016 and 2017, 61 and 26 lost their lives respectively.
Under the same period in 2016 and 2017, 40.8 percent and 38.1 percent of pregnant women tested positive to malaria.
In an attempt to eliminate malaria in the region, The Ghana Health Service (GHS) with support from its partners have advanced plans to distribute Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLIN) free of charge to the various communities in the region.
At a media briefing held in Kumasi on Wednesday, 3 October 2018, Deputy Regional Director of the GHS in charge of Public Health, Dr Akwasi Yeboah, explained that the 4th – 10th October exercise will see trained health personnel with identification tags registering various households for the LLIN distribution programme.
He noted that households who refuse to register during the exercise will not be given any LLIN adding “no registration, no code, no free LLIN”.
Dr Yeboah, further urged the public to sleep under long lasting insecticide treated nets to promote good health.
In a sideline interview with the Regional Heath Director, Dr Emmanuel Tenkorang said the burden of measles, another contagious disease of public health concern, had been reduced from an average of five deaths a day in the 1980s to zero death a day in recent times.
Recounting their achievements, Dr Tenkorang said, for the past 15 years no child had died from the condition.
In a continuous approach to sustain the gains, Ashanti Regional Health Directorate of the GHS is set to embark on a measles supplementary programme for children under 5 years from 17th – 22nd October to eliminate the disease totally.
Source: Ghana/ClassFMonline.com
