'Let's control malaria'

Daily Graphic, Pg. 3. Saturday, April 25/09

Story: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho

AS the world celebrates World Malaria Day today, the government and the private sector have been called upon to collaborate more to make malaria control a priority by allocating more resources to the relevant agencies that work towards eradicating the disease from the country.
Mr James Frimpong of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) noted that malaria is one of the leading causes of death, especially among children under five, and that there was the need for adequate internal funds to ensure sustainability of activities to eliminate it after donor funds ran out.
Mr Frimpong was speaking at a day’s seminar organised by the African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN) for the media as part of activities marking World Malaria Day on the sub-theme, “Counting on the media to eradicate malaria”.
This year’s world theme is, “Counting Malaria Out”.
It is estimated that there are between 300 million and 500 million clinical cases of malaria per year, with 80 per cent of those cases in Africa. In Ghana, about 4,500 deaths traceable to malaria are recorded annually and 1,500 children under five die from malaria every year, while 60 pregnant women die every year from malaria.
Mr Frimpong said the current control strategy was to ensure that there was early diagnosis with the use of a tool known as the Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) kit, prompt laboratory confirmation, especially for in-patients, the use of insecticide-treated bed nets, especially for children and pregnant women, and environmental management.
He said the NMCP was also partnering multilateral and bilateral organisations for financial and technical support to control malaria and collaborate with local and international research groups on malaria-related issues.
The President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, Dr Alex Dodoo, said there was an urgent need for rigorous data to inform malaria policy in Africa.
Consequently, he said, a new project dubbed the INDEPTH Effectiveness and Safety Studies (INESS) of anti-malaria drugs in Africa that would provide the platform for the effectiveness and efficiency of anti-malaria drugs to be studied in real-life settings in Africa was in the offing.
The four-year project, which is being funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will take place in sub-Saharan Africa, which has 90 per cent of all malaria cases world-wide.
The countries involved in the project are Ghana, Tanzania, Mozambique and Burkina Faso. It will, however, start in Ghana and Tanzania.
In Ghana, Dr Dodoo said, the research would be undertaken at three sites, namely, Dodowa, Kintampo and Navrongo, and the participants would be monitored when given Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs).
According to Dr Kwaku Poku Asante of the Kintampo Health Research Centre, a vaccine was being developed to help in eradicating malaria, adding that advanced trials were being undertaken in Ghana, Tanzania and Gabon and that about 1,500 children in Kintampo would be involved in the clinical trial which would be replicated across Africa.
Dr Daniel Ansong of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) said a vaccine would be a key component in defeating malaria.
He noted that the vaccine had the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives in Africa, saying that it would make a positive impact on the economy and the capacity of the country’s healthcare system.
Dr George Obeng Adjei of the Centre for Tropical Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics of the University of Ghana, Legon, said the efficacy of ACTs in curing uncomplicated malaria was well documented but added that when the drug was misused, it might lead to compromised efficacy.
A media consultant, Mr Kofi Wellington, called on the media to develop closer relations with scientists and also ensure that their stories were well researched and accurate.
The Executive Secretary of AMMERN, Mrs Charity Binka, said the media were the gatekeepers of every society and, therefore, they must not be left out in efforts to hound malaria out of the world.
“It is only through the active participation of the media in malaria eradication efforts that the menace can be conquered,” she said.