Businesses urged to help fight against malaria

...as it costs GH¢20m

A Behaviour Change Communications (BCC) campaign aimed at urging households to use Insecticide Treated Bed-nets (ITB), has been launched with a call on businesses to be part of the fight against malaria.

The new campaign spearheaded by National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), Ghana Health Service and The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) should translate into action that ensures every household in the country sleeps under insecticide-treated bed-nets. 

“Three Ghanaian children under five years will not make it to the end of the day! Malaria continues to be one of the biggest killers in the country and is endemic in every one of Ghana’s 10 regions, accounting for over 40 percent of out-patient cases in most public health facilities,” said Dr. Keziah Malm, acting Programme Manager of the NMCP at the campaign’s launch in Accra.

She revealed that Ghanaian businesses spend an average 0.5 percent of annual corporate returns on the treatment of malaria for employees and their dependents, 0.3 percent on malaria prevention, and 0.5 percent on other health-related corporate social responsibilities -- adding that the economic cost of malaria to businesses in the country for 2014 alone was more than GH¢20million.

With 90 percent of the total cost being direct costs, the remaining 10 percent is indirect cost due to absenteeism, and malaria is taking a heavy toll on Ghanaian businesses -- resulting in the loss of 30 working days for each employee annually.

Dr. Malm explained that defeating malaria requires the engagement of all sectors to help reduce the health and economic burden of the disease, or else “our development aspirations will not be realised.”

Available data from the Ministry of Health shows that malaria continues to be the leading cause of outpatient attendance in the country’s hospitals and death among children under five years, costing the economy over US$735million a year through lost productivity in the corporate sector.

In 2014, 8.4 million Out Patients Department cases (OPD) were recorded – with malaria accounting for 30 percent of all OPD cases, 27.9 percent of admissions and 7.2 percent of deaths.

Dr. Malm urged corporate businesses to purchase malaria preventive commodities such as Insecticide Bed Nets for staff, support research, adopt a community and support it to improve malaria outcomes in that community, and provide financial resources to support the NMCP to scale-up malaria interventions throughout the country.

She explained that the NMCP will be ready to provide technical assistance, facilitate the establishment of Workplace Programmes, and help manage any fund that would be generated for malaria control in the country.

She indicated that a household in Ghana on average incurred a total cost of US$14 per patient per incident, and this could go high as US$22 if one does not visit the hospital or is admitted in a health facility.

“For schoolchildren, on average, four clear school days are lost due to malaria; therefore, all need to join the fight against malaria by sleeping under an ITN to prevent it.

“Ghana was among the top-10 countries contributing to the world malaria burden, with children under five and pregnant women being the most vulnerable.

“In 2015 malaria accounted for 38.1 percent of all OPD cases and seven percent of deaths, and use of ITNs have been shown to avert about 50 percent of malaria cases and also preventt 17 percent of all deaths. The impact on the community is maximal when at least 80 percent of the population is sleeping in an ITN,” she said.    

Dr. Malm explained that over 13.6million ITNs were distributed between 2014 and 2015 alone, but not all the nets distributed were used for the intended purpose.

According to the 2014 Demographic Health Survey report, though 68 percent of households have ITNs, only 47 percent slept in an ITN the night before the survey.

She urged health workers to always test all suspected malaria cases for appropriate treatment, and encouraged households to cover puddles around their homes to avert mosquito breeding.

Mr. Alex Segbefia, Minister of Health, explained that Ghana continues to bear the brunt of malaria as it represented 30% of the country’s recorded 10.1 million Out Patients Department (OPD) cases in 2015, though deaths declined by 3.0 percent for the same year.

He explained that the BCC is necessary to improve treatment and surveillance, and is critical for the Test, Treat and Track initiative, adding: “It is vital for building trust in test results, especially when patients receive malaria-negative test results and are unsure of what to do next”.

He advised families to always hang and use their bed-net every night, and urged the Malaria Control Programme as well as partners to create demand for replacing bed-nets as part of their distributing campaigns.

“All must support the national efforts and mobilise financial and human resources to make quality medicines and commodities available and affordable to all communities and individuals,” he stated.

Ms. Susan Namondo Ngongi, UNICEF Representative to Ghana, commended Ghana for making significant progress with 65 percent use of nets, but said there is still one in three people who are needlessly exposed.

She explained that despite the devastating effects of malaria on homes and communities, the importance of a malaria-free environment in promoting economic development and poverty reduction has not been fully appreciated.

“We need to convince not just the population but the politicians, policymakers, the private sector, media and civil society so that we can focus attention toward reducing the malaria footprint in Ghana,” Ngongi remarked.

Dr. Gloria Quansah-Asare, Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, indicated that the last decade has witnessed unprecedented progress in malaria prevention and control in the country, as between the years 2000 and 2014 malaria-associated mortality declined by 65 percent across all age-groups.

These milestones, she said, could not have been achieved without support from the global coalition of partners including the government, Global Fund, World Health Organisation, UNICEF and other NGOs. The involvement of volunteers, health workers, and religious and community leaders has amounted to a major social mobilisation crusade in support of the malaria control efforts.

“Ghana Health Service will continue to work with stakeholders and partners to carry out advocacy for increased mobilisation of domestic and external funding, and provide guidance regarding appropriate malaria-control policies and Behaviour Change Communication interventions.

“I therefore call upon you all to support national efforts and mobilise the financial and human resources needed to effect Behaviour Change Communication interventions in all communities so that malaria will be defeated,” Quansah-Asare said.