Friday, March 18, 2011

Hyundai Stop Malaria campaign launched

Ghana's Deputy Minister of Health Joseph Mettle-Nunoo has officially launched the Hyundai Stop Malaria campaign with a call for greater commitment towards fighting malaria.

“The State, Corporate Ghana and Non-Governmental Organisations have a critical role to play to help rid our communities of malaria. Not only does malaria affect our productivity, it also affects our children negatively - in diverse ways.

“If malaria is the leading cause of death among infants, then it becomes even more imperative to fight it with all we’ve got because it’s an attack on the very future of this country,” he said.

Mr. Nunoo made this known in Accra at the launch of the Hyundai-Auto Plaza Stop Malaria campaign, aimed at educating and creating public awareness about the existence of malaria, the causes and how one can prevent it.

The campaign is meant to reduce the menace of the disease and contribute to the fight against it. It is also meant to change the deep-rooted perception of some illiterate rural folks that malaria is an evil disease caused by malevolent spirits.

Mr. Jihad Hijazi, Chief Executive Officer, Auto Plaza, said the programme is targetted at acknowledging and appreciating the health implications of an unhealthy environment and the need for change among others.

“We cannot allow malaria to rob us of our precious human capital as a country. Malaria must be stopped with all the resources at our disposal,” he said.

More than 7,500 cases of malaria are reported daily, and it is the leading cause of death among children under five years.

Dr. Constance Bart-Plange, Programme Manager, Ghana National Malaria Control Programme, mentioned that malaria causes absenteeism from work and is a proximal cause and consequence of low productivity and under-development.

She said the fight against malaria is multi-faceted and that it takes preventive activities like use of insecticide-treated nets, administration of malaria medicines to prevent women and indoor residual spraying to kill adult mosquitoes.

She revealed that a new initiative - the affordable medicines facility for malaria - has been introduced by the health sector to ensure that people suffering from malaria have access to effective and speedy recovery therapy at an affordable price.

Auto Plaza Limited is the accredited Hyundai car distributor in the country.

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