The United States government, through the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), is providing $6 million (¢87 million) to spray homes against malaria mosquitoes in northern Ghana.
This indoor spraying aims to reduce malaria cases in the region.
This year, the campaign covered over 440,000 households in 10 districts of the Northern and North East Regions, protecting more than one million people, including pregnant women and children under five.
U.S. Global Malaria Coordinator Dr. David Walton, participated in this year’s campaign in the Kumbungu district.
He noted:
“This marks the 17th consecutive year of support from the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative for Ghana’s IRS campaign,”
In addition to spraying, we are working with the Ghanaian government to provide bed nets, preventive treatments, malaria testing and treatment services, and trained health workers to manage malaria,”
The United States has made contributions totaling over $460 million (¢6.6 billion) to Ghana’s malaria response since 2008, which has resulted in a notable decline in infection rates.
The percentage of children under five who had malaria decreased from 27.5% in 2011 to 8.6% in 2022.
Ghana’s National Malaria Elimination Strategy Plan was introduced in January 2024 with the goal of achieving almost zero malaria deaths by 2030. This ambitious effort has the full support of PMI and USAID.
As the biggest development partner of Ghana, the US contributed more than $90 million to the country’s health sector in 2023, assisting with issues such as HIV, malaria, maternity, neonatal, and child health, as well as global health security.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and USAID-led PMI program is still very important in the fight against malaria in Ghana.
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