UK gives £10m for malaria control (Graphic Business)

THE United Kingdom (UK) Government is to assist Ghana to the tune of £10 million in support of the country's malaria control programme.
The support which is aimed at assisting the country to reach its goal of reducing the burden of malaria prevention and treatment by 75 per cent by 2015, would protect almost five million Ghanaians from the disease including nearly one million children under five years old.
The UK Under-Secretary of State for International Development Mr Stephen O'Brien, made the announcement during a visit to some communities in the Tolon-Kumbungu District of the Northern Region recently.
The funding would be used for the procurement and distribution of about two million long-lasting insecticide treated nets (ITNs) through United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).
The UKaid currently provided £8m annually as Ghana's sector budget support over a five-year period (2008-2012) in support of the Ministry of Health (MoH) programme of work (PoW).
Malaria has been identified as the leading cause of ailments and deaths for children under five years of age in Ghana, accounting for 22 per cent of under five mortalities in 2007. It is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted via the bites of infected mosquitoes. In the human body, the parasites multiply in the liver, and then infect red blood cells.
In 2008, the department further provided about £10m for the procurement of emergency obstetric equipment in support of Ghana's free maternal healthcare policy, which became operational that year.
In 2006 and 2007, DFID again provided a total of £8.7m through UNICEF to procure and distribute ITNS to children under two as well as pregnant women.
Symptoms of malaria include fever, headache, and vomiting, and usually appear between 10 and 15 days after the mosquito bite. If not treated, malaria can quickly become life-threatening by disrupting the blood supply to vital organs. In many parts of the world, the parasites have developed resistance to a number of malaria medicines.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Africa accounts for over 90 per cent of the 1.5 to 2 million global malaria deaths yearly. In several countries, the plague is hardest on children from ages 1-5 with a child dying every 30 seconds.
According to a study conducted by Ghana's Ministry of Health (MoH) in 2007, estimated annual economic cost of reported malaria case alone in country was US$772.4 million with the figure hovering around US$32.65 per person.
In spite of the increase funds made available to fight malaria, thousands of millions of people are still reeling under the threat of the disease, especially in Africa. In 2006, the Global Fund (GF) alone distributed about 18 million insecticide treated bed nets and reached 5.3 million patients with artemisinin- based therapies (ACTs).
Key interventions to control malaria include: Prompt and effective treatment use of insecticide nets by people at risk; and indoor residual spraying with insecticide to control the vector mosquitoes.
Prevention of malaria can aim at either: Preventing infection, by avoiding bites by parasite-carrying mosquitoes, or preventing disease, by using antimalarial drugs prophylactically. The drugs do not prevent initial infection through a mosquito bite, but they prevent the development of malaria parasites in the blood, which are the forms that cause disease. This type of prevention is also called "suppression."
In Ghana the MoH estimates that out of three million cases of suspected malaria reported each year in public health facilities, over 900, 000 affected children under the age of five.
It is estimated that every 30 seconds, a child in Africa dies from malaria, while 91 per cent of malaria deaths in the world occur in Africa.
Experts have indicated that insecticide treated nets could help counter the resistance built by the parasitic insects.