The MTN Ghana Foundation has distributed Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs), to hundred pregnant women and nursing mothers at the Kumasi South Hospital in the Ashanti Region, as part of activities to commemorate this year’s World Malaria Day.
The Foundation has also pledged to intensify awareness about malaria, its effects, and how it can be prevented across the country.
Northern sector General Manager of MTN Ghana, Nii Adotey Mingle, who led a team from the company to distribute the nets stressed the need for stakeholders to support efforts to reduce malaria-related deaths in Ghana.
He said the theme for this year’s celebration “Ready to Beat Malaria” must be practicalized by stakeholders in the health sector to ensure that malaria cases do not assume alarming proportions.
Mr. Mingle indicated that the company was distributing a total of 300 Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) to pregnant women, nursing mothers and children at health facilities in three regions of the country.
The facilities include; the Sekyere Krobo and Nsuta CHPS Compound in the Wassa East Distirct of the Western Region, the Pentecost Hospital at Madina in the Greater Accra Region and the Kumasi South Hospital in the Ashanti Region.
He revealed that the Foundation had distributed about 900 treated nets to mothers and children across the country since 2016.
The beneficiaries could not hide their excitement after receiving the treated nets from the team.
Malaria Focal person at the Kumasi South Hospital, Linda Angbataayelle, attributed the rising cases of malaria within the region to the refusal of residents to sleep under treated nets whenever they are distributed to them.
She advised the beneficiaries to adhere to the instructions on the nets before going ahead to use them.
She lauded the foundation for the gesture, and called on other organizations to contribute their quota towards preventing malaria.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria control and progress has stalled over the last few years, and there is the need to adopt innovative strategies to achieve 40% reduction in malaria incidence and death rates by 2020.
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By: Hafiz Tijani/citinewsroom.com/Ghana