Ghana Should Promote Malaria Prevention Methods To Curb Disease Nationwide, Editorial Says

Ghana can significantly reduce the burden of malaria and the "huge expenditure[s]" associated with controlling the disease by promoting awareness about effective prevention methods, a Daily Graphic editorial says. Several districts in the country have reduced their malaria incidence and mortality rates among children by implementing adequate case management procedures and programs aimed at pregnant women and by promoting the use of insecticide-treated nets and home-based treatment programs, according to the editorial. In order to successfully curb malaria nationwide, health care workers should "promote the most efficient and effective" disease management strategies, and the public should be "determined to eliminate" possible mosquito breeding sites, the editorial says. In addition, the Ghana Health Service should boost public education on all aspects of the disease, and the Ministry of Health should allocate more funding from the health budget for prevention education, according to the editorial (Daily Graphic, 2/20).