By Daniel Agbesi Latsu, GNA
Kadjebi (O/R), June 27, GNA – The Kadjebi District Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service, has targeted some 21,974 households for supply of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITN), this year.
The registration of households for the supply commences on July 2 and ends on Monday, July 8, 2024.
The Point Mass Distribution (PMD) of Long-Lasting Insecticide Nets starts 13-17 August 2024.
The Directorate is also commencing the first cycle of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) on Tuesday, July 2 to July 8, 2024.
Mrs. Mabel Amankwa-Amoah, Kadjebi District Health Promotion Officer, disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), in an interview at Kadjebi in the Oti Region.
To achieve target, she said, effective June 26, 2024, the directorate would be using various channels of communications for social change tools to inform the target population on the exercise.
“Sleeping under ITN every night and throughout the night and dosing your children is the best way to protect you and your family from Malaria,” she said.
Mrs Amankwa-Amoah said: “The Ghana Health Service with support from its partners will be distributing Insecticide Treated Nets for free and dosing of children 3-59 months with the SMC medicine in our communities.
“Trained volunteers with identification tags will visit your house to register members of each household to give them nets and give SMC medication to eligible children.”
The Health Promotion Officer said sleeping under nets prevented wasting of household’s income for treatment of malaria, saved caregivers and household members from wasting time at health facilities seeking cure for themselves and their wards due to malaria.
She said sleeping under nets also prevented emotional and psychological stress for caregivers, parents, and family members.
Mrs Amankwa-Amoah said it also prevented malaria mortality, so everyone should be interested and that the expected ITN for distribution was 47,832.
On SMC, she said 16,876 children (3-59 months) had been targeted for dosing during the year.
She said the SMC is in five cycles and that the first cycle is from 2-8 July second cycle is 7-11 August third cycle 10-16 September fourth cycle is 8-14 October and the fifth cycle is 5-11 November 2024.
Mrs Amankwa-Amoah said SMC was a special intervention to reduce malaria morbidity during rainy season and that the SMC medication is not harmful and it is free.
GNA