JOURNALISTS in the twin-city of Sekondi-Takoradi and other parts of the Western Region have attended a workshop on the causes and treatment of malaria.
They were also educated on the country’s anti-malarial drug policy, affordable medicine for malaria, and intermittent preventive treatment, among others.
The resource persons observed that most of the information about the breeding grounds of two main female anopheles mosquitoes, which are the main vectors for malarial transmission, was not accurately reported.
The journalists were also made to understand that malaria could be accidentally transmitted through blood transfusion or through contaminated blood on a hypodermic needle.
Mr Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey of the National Malaria Control Programme discounted the notion that chemically polluted choked gutters were breeding grounds for mosquitoes which transmitted malaria.
He said chemically polluted water was not a suitable breeding place for female anopheles mosquitoes but rather areas such as tidal swamps, irrigated rice fields and places in the homes found conducive by the mosquitoes.
Mr Gakpey explained that female anopheles mosquitoes needed human blood to develop their eggs.
He said it was, therefore, very important not to create the environment in the home to attract them.
Mr Gakpey said about 4,500 deaths recorded in the country annually were caused by malaria, with children under five years and pregnant women being the most vulnerable.
He added that about 1,500 children under five years and 60 pregnant women were killed by the disease every year.
He said there was the need to adopt a control mechanism to ensure that rice fields and swampy places were not made conducive for mosquitoes to breed.
He said in most cases, environmental protection agencies protected wet lands, and to ensure that those lands did not breed mosquitoes, fish farming should be introduced in those areas, particularly streams classified as protected areas.
Mr Gakpey urged the media to educate the public on the need to keep their surroundings clean.
He said an anti-malarial drug policy for the country was meant to facilitate the attainment of rapid and long-lasting clinical cure as well as reduction in morbidity, including malaria-related anaemia.
The Western Regional Secretary of the Ghana Journalists Association, Mr Sam Mark Essien, commended the organisers of the event for the education.
He said as communicators, they needed constant information on the new trends of fighting social problems.
Mr Essien assured the organisers that with the latest information on the causes of malaria, he and his colleagues would take up the challenge to ensure that the aim of the National Malaria Control Programme was achieved.
Prompt Ghana, United States Agency for International Development and John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in collaboration with Centre for Communications Programmes, BCS-Project, UNICEF and World Health Organisation, supported the programme.
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