Nationwide Mosquito Control Programme sees improvement in Ashanti region

This was during a visit to one of the sites of the Programme at Santasi in Kumasi by members of the Committee as part of their three-day tour to the Ashanti region to assess the state of healthcare interventions, projects and programmes in the region.

The Nationwide Mosquito Control Programme which is a government-led intervention to help reduce the high prevalence rate of malaria in the country is being implemented by Zoomlion Ghana Limited. The programme which began in 2009 is being carried out in the 216 metropolis, municipalities and districts in the country.

Statistics obtained from the Ashanti Regional Health directorate confirms that even though malaria continues to be among the top five reported cases at hospitals in the region, there has been a consistent decline in the number of cases by approximately 28 per cent in the last three years. This is as a result of a number of interventions, one of which is the Nationwide Mosquito Control Programme (NAMCOP). NAMCOP focuses on activities such as larviciding and larval source management (LSM) to prevent breeding by mosquitoes.

Briefing members of the Parliamentary Committee, the Programme Manager, Ebenezer Addae, explained that the programme involves the identification of mosquitoes breeding places, especially stagnant waters within the various communities. According to him, after de-silting the choked gutters, the staff then carry out Larviciding - the spraying of the breeding places with a recommended chemical to kill mosquito larvae.

Mr. Addae said in cases where adult mosquitoes are found in large quantities like in bushes, different control methods are adopted. This, he said is aiding in achieving the desired results in suppressing the multiplication of mosquitoes in the system.

Testifying about the impact of the Programme, the Assembly Member for Santasi, Samuel Amankwaa, noted that until the program was extended to his electoral area recently, the state of mosquito bites in the area was unbearable.

Mr. Amankwaa therefore commended the government for the programme and hoped it would be sustained.

Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Health, Dr. Kwabena Twum-Nuamah, expressed satisfaction with the impact of the Programme and assured that the Committee would capture it in its Report to Parliament and government for necessary consideration.