Ghana must reignite commitment to malaria elimination
As Ghana joins the global community to commemorate World Malaria Day (WMD) today on the theme “Malaria ends with us: Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite,” it is important that the country recommits itself to eliminating the disease.
Despite progress made in the fight against malaria, the disease remains one of the most persistent public health challenge in the country, exacting a significant toll, particularly on children and pregnant women.
According to the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), fewer than 300 malaria-related deaths were recorded last year—a remarkable decline from over 2,000 a decade ago.
Additionally, the prevalence rate has dropped from 28 per cent in 2021 to about nine per cent in 2022. This is commendable, but does not mean the fight is over.
The recent disruption in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s support for global health programmes, particularly the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), has revealed the country’s vulnerabilities regarding the disease.
USAID has long been one of the largest financiers of global health, and Ghana remains a significant beneficiary. Any disruption in this flow of support poses serious consequences, especially given the country’s heavy reliance on external funding for health.
This distraction has already begun to show its impact and delays in clearing shipments of essential malaria commodities— such as insecticide-treated nets and antimalarial drugs—have led to shortages.
This situation is not only alarming, but underscores the urgent need for the country to reassess and reconfigure its malaria elimination strategy.
These developments, according to one of Ghana’s renowned epidemiologists, Prof. Fred Newton Binka, highlight a pressing truth: the country must reduce its dependence on external funding if it hopes to eliminate malaria sustainably.
In a recent interview with The Ghanaian Times, he echoed the need for the country to tackle the emerging challenges with urgency.
Prof Binka warned that despite the country’s potential to eliminate Malaria, the current resource constraints severely limit progress, and advised that to move forward, the government must take ownership of malaria elimination efforts.
This means investing local resources, prioritising malaria within the national health budget, and decentralising implementation to the district level, where tailored interventions can have the greatest impact.
The renowned physician also advocated community engagement in the fight against Malaria, stressing that “real change happens when individuals take responsibility—from consistently using treated nets to seeking early treatment.”
The Ghanaian Times associates with Prof Binka’s position that eliminating malaria is not only a health imperative, but also an economic concern.
The cost of inaction is measured not only by lives lost, but by productivity drain and overstretch of health systems.
For The Ghanaian Times, the call to “Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite” is more than a theme—it is a clarion call for renewed urgency and commitment to the fight against malaria.
Ghana has already shown that progress is possible, and now is the time to double down. The country must diversify funding sources, decentralise its approach, and empower communities as active partners in malaria elimination.
Malaria ends with us—if we act boldly, invest wisely, and stay the course.
