LET'S TAME MALARIA

THE threat posed by malaria to the development aspirations of the country was again highlighted by the Minister of Health, Major Courage Quashigah (retd), on Tuesday when he addressed a health summit in Accra.
The minister stated that malaria was crippling the country’s health budget, as the cost of treating malaria alone for this year was equivalent to the entire budget of the Health Ministry.
Understandably, $772 million was spent this year to treat malaria. Add this to the revenue lost as a result of the loss of man hours from malaria morbidity and one easily reckons the enormity of the challenge that confronts us. The cost of treatment alone should, no doubt, serve as an irresistible motivating factor to intensify our crusade against the prevention of malaria.
The DAILY GRAPHIC, in recent times, has found cause to raise concerns over this issue and we still believe that it is a crusade that should be intensified. Just a few days ago, a renowned Ghanaian physician, Professor Joseph Orleans Mends Pobee, expressed worry that 50 years after independence, malaria was still a major cause of death in the country, especially among children.
We find it very reprehensible that in this time and age, one in every five childhood deaths in the country is attributed to malaria, a disease that can easily and effectively be prevented by adopting good sanitation habits.
Although we may still need to find more effective ways of treating malaria, we also have to focus on its prevention by keeping our environments clean in order to destroy mosquito breeding sites.
That requires an effective synergy between the relevant local government authorities and health officials in order to effectively address the challenge.
In this regard, the DAILY GRAPHIC wishes to throw some spotlight on the concept of “Saman Saman”, the local reference to sanitary inspectors, that was recently introduced on a pilot basis by the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment.
We believe that it is a laudable concept which has the potential of helping to address our enormous sanitation problems that are threatening the lives of innocent Ghanaians.
In the past, the “Saman Saman” concept contributed tremendously towards keeping our communities clean and we need to know what has become of the pilot project in terms of challenges and prospects.
We also need to know whether it is possible to replicate this concept in a very practical sense across the length and breadth of the country, particularly in communities where sanitation remains a major challenge.
A few years ago, this concept was so effective that every Ghanaian played by what was wholesome because those who kept unsanitary surroundings were dealt with by law. Unfortunately, today bye-laws of local government authorities remain mere intentions.
In the face of their own logistical, human resource and financial constraints, local government authorities need to be supported by private organisations, as well as non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations, to help address these sanitation challenges.
While commending Zoomlion, a private sanitation company in the country, for its support in that regard, we wish to encourage it to do more, with special emphasis on the destruction of malaria breeding sites.
The DAILY GRAPHIC also wishes to stress the need for Ghanaians to be orientated to practise good sanitation habits and contribute in their own small ways to keeping our environment clean.