Ghana aims to cut malaria deaths by 90 pct by 2028-Xinhua

A man receives malaria test at an event marking the World Malaria Day in Accra, Ghana, April 25, 2024. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua)

ACCRA, April 26 (Xinhua) — Ghana aims to reduce malaria deaths by 90 percent by 2028, an official has said.

Nana Yaw Peprah, deputy program manager of the National Malaria Elimination Program in Ghana, told Xinhua that the country would start piloting mass drug administration in selected districts to treat all positive malaria cases promptly.

Under the program, chemoprevention will be introduced to reduce the incidence of malaria and malaria deaths among infants and children, who are most vulnerable to the disease, Peprah said on the sidelines of an event marking World Malaria Day in the Ghanaian capital of Accra on Thursday.

Even though the project requires a lot of investment, the economic benefits are 20 times greater than the cost involved, he said.

« Let us look at the benefit. If you’re able to invest in the strategy, malaria elimination in Ghana is something we can achieve, » Peprah said.

Between 2019 and 2023, Ghana cut malaria deaths by about 56 percent, from 333 in 2019 to 146 last year, according to Peprah. ■

A man measures blood pressure at an event marking the World Malaria Day in Accra, Ghana, April 25, 2024. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua)

A man receives malaria test at an event marking the World Malaria Day in Accra, Ghana, April 25, 2024. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua)

A man receives malaria test at an event marking the World Malaria Day in Accra, Ghana, April 25, 2024. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua)