The Upper East Regional Health Directorate has distributed over 712,398 out of the 716,459 long-lasting insecticides mosquito bed nets its received in 2021.
The region in 2020 had zero malaria deaths following the introduction of interventions such as; Point Mass distribution of long-lasting bed, Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention.
Speaking exclusively to word news, the focal person for Malaria Control in the Upper East Region, Mr Sydney Abilba noted that 716,450 was distributed to 12 districts excluding Bulsa South, Bulsa North and Kasena Nankana, “as part of measures put in place in controlling or preventing malaria in the Upper East Region, several interventions that are been implemented in the region with the support from the National Malaria Control and then one of our key areas of vector control that has to do with preventing the carrier of the plasmodium parasite that is the human is through the distribution of treated bed nets to households so that people will sleep under them and the bed nets serve as a barrier that prevents the parasite from getting access to the host which is we human, especially when we are sleeping, so the Point Mass Distribution is one of the means Ghana Health Services shares bed nets to households to ensure they are well protected against the malaria vecto. “
Mr Sydney noted that in 2021, the region took delivery of the second face of the Point Mass Distribution to augment the 2018 point Mass Distribution knowing very well the three years bed nets that were distributed in 2018 would have been weak, as well the chemical that is used to treat them may not be serving their needed purposes.
“At the end of the day, we were able to distribute 712,398-bed nets to all households in the Upper East Region and with this distribution, the percentage coverage was 99.4 % of our estimated population we targeted in the region, so in the end, we were able to achieve our target of above 90%. the target was 90% and we had more than 90%, so it is our hope that the communities as well as households who benefited from this interventions will put the bed nets into it proper use”.
He bemoaned how people of late uses the bed nets for different purpose like fishing and fencing of gardens in most parts of the region. He noted that the proper usage of the nets contributed to the zero malaria deaths recorded in 2020 .
Source:mywordsonline.com/Gaspard Ayuureneeya.