Malaria Is As Dangerous As AIDS - Medical Director

Dr Antobre Boateng, the Deputy Eastern Regional Health Director in-charge of Public Health, has expressed worry that some Ghanaians still take malaria for granted. Speaking on the occasion of the World Malaria Day durbar organised by the Regional Health Directorate at Sekesua in the Upper Manya Krobo District, the Deputy Health Director said malaria is as deadly as AIDS and Ebola. Dr Boateng indicated that health officers in-charge of malaria control in the region are unrelenting in executing their tasks to reducing malaria cases to a very low figure. "Key indicators like fatalities in children under five, is reducing and we won't be complacent," he said. Mrs Sarah Sylvia Donkor, the District Health Director  said,   a total of 13,581 cases were recorded in 2015 out of which 12,954 were confirmed positive. She said 3,630 children under five years of age and 271 pregnant women were confirmed positive of malaria the same year. Mrs Donkor expressed dissatisfaction about the record and blamed it on the residents of not taking malaria education serious. She said farmers in the district use the treated mosquito nets for fishing and assured that her outfit was working tirelessly to solve the situation. Mr Prosper Agbagba, the Regional Malaria Control Officer, appealed to the residents to desist from using the treated nets for farming and instead sleep in them to prevent malaria. He demonstrated to them how to properly fix the treated nets in their homes.

Source: GNA