Ghana reduces malaria related deaths by 0.24% in 2021

Ghana has reduced malaria related deaths by 0.24 per cent in 2021, the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) has said.

The NMCP said in 2021, the proportion of malaria deaths recorded was 0.68 per cent as against 0.92 per cent in 2020.

Mr James Frimpong, the Deputy Programme Manager, NMCP, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said out of 1000 deaths recorded in 2021, 68 of them were due to malaria but in 2020, 92 out of 1000 deaths were due to malaria.

He said in 2021, the country recorded a total of 10,623,292 confirmed malaria cases against 953,957 in 2020, indicating a proportion of 20.5 per cent and 19.9 per cent increase respectively, he added.

“This means that the proportion of confirmed malaria cases per thousand population in 2020 was 159.1, and in 2021 it was 161 cases per thousand population”, he explained.

Mr Frimpong said though the country had been able to reduce malaria deaths drastically, infections were still on the increase, saying the country had plateaued due to other health factors.

“We are not happy with the high figures and that is why we keep on working and implementing the strategies that are workable.”

He said for the country to reduce malaria incidence at hospitals, the citizenry needed to comply with the preventive interventions such as sleeping in treated mosquito bed nets, using indoor residual spraying, and visiting the hospital when sick of malaria for proper treatment.

Mr Frimpong called for more resource allocation to the NMCP for effective campaign against malaria.

Source: GNA