By Yussif Ibrahim, GNA
Kumasi, April 28, GNA – Dr Fred Adomako-Boateng, the Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services, has called for sustained collective action to eliminate malaria, cautioning that gains made over the years could easily be reversed without continued commitment.
He said although scientific advances and country-led strategies had made malaria elimination achievable within a generation, progress remained fragile.
“For the first time, we have the tools and knowledge to eliminate malaria within a lifetime, but any decline in funding, commitment or implementation can reverse the gains and lead to preventable deaths,” he warned.
Dr Adomako-Boateng said this when he delivered a speech to mark World Malaria Day in Kumasi.
He noted that the Ashanti Region had recorded encouraging progress in malaria control over the past three years, particularly in reducing severe cases and improving prevention among pregnant women.
Data from the District Health Management Information System (DHMIS), he said, indicated that outpatient malaria cases stood at 989,253 in 2023, representing 20.3 per cent of all outpatient cases.
The figure increased to 1,153,000 in 2024, accounting for 19 per cent, before declining to 970,696 cases in 2025, representing 20 per cent.
Dr Adomako-Boateng highlighted strong diagnostic performance across the region, noting that nearly all suspected malaria cases were tested before treatment, which he said was critical in improving case management and reducing the misuse of antimalarial medicines.
Among children under five years, malaria admissions declined from 27,846 in 2023 to 22,172 in 2024 and further to 21,344 in 2025.
Malaria-related deaths among children under one year remained extremely low, with no recorded deaths in 2023 and one death each in 2024 and 2025.
Institutional malaria fatality rates, he added, also remained minimal over the period under review.
Despite the gains, Dr Adomako-Boateng stressed that eliminating malaria required active participation from individuals, households and communities.
“Malaria prevention and control is a shared responsibility. Zero malaria starts with you,” he said.
He urged residents to adopt preventive measures such as sleeping under insecticide-treated mosquito nets every night, seeking early antenatal care to receive intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy, and ensuring that suspected malaria cases were tested before treatment.
He also emphasised the importance of improved environmental sanitation, calling on communities to eliminate stagnant water and keep their surroundings clean to reduce mosquito breeding.
The commemoration, he said, should serve as a renewed call for stronger partnerships, increased investment and enhanced community engagement to accelerate the march towards malaria elimination.
Dr Adomako-Boateng reiterated that while the region’s progress was encouraging, sustained action at all levels remained critical to achieving a malaria-free future.
GNA
Edited by Lydia Kukua Asamoah