By: Rachel Kakraba
A medical doctor, Kofi Adomako, with the National Malaria Elimination Programme, says attitudinal change is the only antidote to eliminating malaria in Ghana.
He said countries that have successfully eliminated malaria are implementing the same interventions as Ghana such as Indoor Residual Spraying, Seasonal Malaria Chemotherapy, distribution of Insecticide Treated Nets among others.
“The countries that have eliminated malaria are using this same intervention. What are we doing wrong that we still have malaria with us? It’s about the people. China for instance they did it. In China everything was by law. If we say weed around your house, make sure there are no water collection and health inspectors come and you can go to jail. Here forcing people to do the thing maybe a bit difficult, but we can only talk to them for them to understand.”
He said eliminating malaria in Ghana is not overly ambitious when citizens cooperate and make use of the interventions.
He hinted of plans to enforce laws that punish people who disregard some of the interventions on malaria such as the wrong use of the Insecticide Treated Nets.
Dr. Adomako said malaria has a huge economic burden on the country and people must be committed to change the narrative.
“People think that malaria is a disease with us, we don’t need to fight against it but it costs us more than what covid has done. If you look at the economic burden on Malaria, the NHIA alone, we are spending more on malaria than we spend on covid, we spend on all other diseases.”
