US government support for Ghana anti-malaria fight amounts to $361m
The US President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) in its 15th Annual Report demonstrated significant progress made between Ghana and the United States to fight malaria. The US government has so far supported Ghana with $361 million.
A statement copied to the Ghana News Agency said PMI remained committed to supporting Ghana to achieve its targets for malaria pre-elimination by 2030 in line with the African Leaders Malaria Initiative objectives.
It said Ghana’s efforts to sustain essential malaria services amidst the COVID-19 pandemic continued to save lives and the United States was proud to support the efforts under PMI through U.S. Agency for International Development and Centers for Disease Control programmes.
PMI has partnered with Ghana to fight malaria since 2006, contributing $361 million to date, the statement said.
It said PMI had supported the purchase and delivery of 19,948,473 bed nets, 19,106,440 doses of antimalarial medications, and 31,407,600 malaria rapid diagnostic tests.
The statement said the initiative supported the training of 220,627 health workers while strengthening health systems to reinforce and amplify Ghana’s efforts to end the deadly, but preventable disease.
Mr Raj Panjabi, the Global Malaria Coordinator, appointed by President Joe Biden, to lead the U.S. PMI, said, “Science shows we can beat malaria and we can beat it in our lifetime.
“Yet we need bold action to stop COVID-19 from holding us back. The United States is proud to partner with Ghana to continue the fight.”
It said, PMI also supported annual indoor residual spraying and seasonal malaria chemoprevention in eligible districts in northern Ghana.
The statement said PMI had supported Ghana to conduct malaria-related surveys and operational research and partnered with Ghana’s Noguchi Memorial Institute and National Malaria Control Program to conduct annual insecticide resistance studies to inform the deployment of indoor residual spraying and bed net distribution interventions.
Source: GNA