POOR ATTITUDES FRUSTRATING MALARIA FIGHT IN ASANTE AKYEM NORTH DISTRICT

Mr. Ronald Ronald Miah-Asante Akyem North District Director of Health

Investment being made in the distribution of treated insecticide nets as an intervention for the control of malaria in the Asante Akyem North district of the Ashanti region is not yielding the commensurate result, at least in the last three years, as the recorded cases continue to rise at the Out Patients Department of healthcare facilities in the area.

According to data sourced from the District Health directorate has revealed that, since 2020, the disease has claimed the lives of three infants even though there is no such record readily available about maternal mortality from the disease during the period under review.

In the observation of the District Director of Health, though enough of the nets have been distributed to the targeted population up to date, poor behaviour and attitude among the people is responsible for the undesirable outcome so far.

Asante Akyem North is one of the districts in the Ashanti region with a high malaria prevalence. It is against this background that much collaborative effort is being made in the area with the deployment of some of the control interventions, particularly mass distribution of the Long Lasting Treated Nets, with the objective of subduing the menace.

Under this intervention, various strategies have been adopted to ensure that the greater percentage of the targeted populations are covered. Distribution among primary Two and Six pupils, children due for Measles Two, expectant mothers during Ante Natal Clinics as well as the mass LLN Campaign have been used to ensure that most of the target population in the district, especially children under five years and pregnant women who form the highly vulnerable groups, access the intervention.

The LLN is rather used to fence gardens and farms

The data also indicate that all the basic schools in the district have been covered under the programme through which a total of 11 thousand, 896 pupils in P2 and P6 have each received the net. Similarly, one thousand and 90 pregnant women and seven thousand, 309 children due for Measles Two have all been served with the LLN in the three-years.

But information sourced from the health directorate revealed that, positive cases of malaria at Out Patients Department, OPD at the health facilities continue to rise to the disappointment of the health personnel. The data show that the one thousand and 10 cases recorded at the hospitals in 2020 increased to one thousand, 421 last year while between January and October this year alone, two thousand, 176 reported cases have been confirmed. The District Director of Health, Ronald Ronald-Miah, in an interview with ‘Ashanti Today, expressed disappointment with the situation blaming it on poor attitude of the people toward usage of the nets. He noted that, even though the people rush to receive the nets but instead of sleeping under it for protection against mosquito bites, put same to completely wrong uses with the excuse that it produces too much heat.

“When it comes to the logistics, they are on the ground, I am sure when you go to any house now, you can get a mosquito net. Some are even in their their trunks. Unfortunately, we are seeing people use the mosquito nets the wrong way, to serve as fence on their farms and even used by these Aboboyaa riders to cover refuse. All these are human attitude. We need to invest in changing attitudinal behaviours of people and to improve on their health status”, the Health Director lamented.

This portal then set out to confirm or refute the District Health Director’s claims by interacting with a cross section of the inhabitants about their patronage of the treated mosquito nets. This generated very interesting responses.

“I’ve mosquito net in my room but I don’t sleep under it. Whether I use it or not, mosquitoes will still bite me so I don’t see why I should bother myself so much about it”, said 25-year old Akua Achiaa.

Then Charity Opoku, a former NSS person noted “when I returned from work, my brother had received one of the nets from health personnel who came around to distribute it after months of registering for it. But I don’t like sleeping under it because I feel itchy anytime I sleep in it and also it produces too much heat.”

A farmer, Michael Abdul Rahim also responded “oh yes, I have it at home. I think I bought it but I don’t have a need to sleep in it but not for any other reason.”

Mr. Ronald-Miah said such behaviour and attitude have huge health and socio-economic implications to not only the individual patients alone, but their families and larger community.

Three under five children have died of malaria in the district since 2020

He stressed “There is something we call, transition in the life course so that if you are a child and you are exposed to malaria and it is affecting development and growth. In adulthood, it affects productivity and the cycle of poverty will continue.”

This is why, according to him, it is very crucial for particularly the mass media to augment efforts by the health service and its collaborators in educating the people towards attitudinal change in the fight toward eliminating the disease.

Mr. Ronald-Miah pleaded “education is what you can do. You can also help us in educating the population on the importance of sleeping under the net and how to protect yourself from getting malaria. You are the vehicle to share information and to educate people and you have the largest coverage as well because the number of persons who come to receive health education are not enough. But radio and tv travel far and wide.”

With this advice by the Asante Akyem North District Director of Health, Mr. Ronald Ronald-Miah, it is important for everyone to get involved in the national malaria crusade if the national target of total elimination is to be achieved by the 2030 target date.