Local plant for effective treatment of malaria (Page 14)

Tuesday March 10, 2009
THE government is to speed up ongoing research into a local plant, Cryptolepis, for the effective treatment of malaria.
Preliminary results into the efficacy of the plant, which abounds in Ghana, have indicated that the crude extract of the plant completely eliminates malaria parasites in less than four days with no adverse effects.
The plant, known locally as nibima (in Akuapem), is also effective in reducing high bodily temperature.
This was contained in the highlight of the 2009 Budget and Economic Policy Statement of Ghana which the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, presented to Parliament on March 5, 2009.
Dr Duffuor said the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) would conduct clinical trials on the medicinal plant, in collaboration with a strategic investor, Phytica Limited, under a public-private partnership agreement.
He said the success of the initiative would reduce the importation of malarial drugs into the country and encourage the production of the plant for use locally and for export.
To improve on effective healthcare delivery for national development, Dr Duffuor stated that the government would pursue major intervention measures in preventing malaria, which affects many of the people in the productive age.
He called for effective malaria control measures to eventually lead to the elimination of the disease and the intensification of education and advocacy to increase the utilisation of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) nation-wide.
He also indicated that the government would embark on indoor residual spraying (IRS) and scale up the bio-larvicidal project in the Central, Western and other regions of the country to eliminate malaria-causing mosquitoes.
He reiterated that malaria was a leading cause of morbidity in Ghana, which accounted for about 40 per cent of out-patient attendances.
The disease, according to health experts, is also the leading cause of death, especially among children under the age of five and pregnant women.
“Malaria affects productivity throughout the economy,” he pointed out.
On the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Dr Duffuor said the law governing the scheme would be reviewed to address the challenges that emerged after four years of its implementation.
He also announced that the government would commence work on the implementation of the one-time payment of insurance premium, adding that actuarial analysis relating thereto would start in earnest.
He stressed that waste and inefficiency in the system would be removed to address the challenges affecting the payment of claims, adding that District Mutual Health Insurance Schemes (DMHISs) would be networked to provide nation-wide services.