A scene during the training
A three-week Larval Source Management (LSM) training across the country ended on Thursday, May 27, with a call on the participants to spearhead the effort to destroy mosquito breeding sites as part of the malaria eradication campaign.
In the past three weeks, Zoomlion Ghana Limited in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) have been training health workers on LSM, often tapping the expertise of Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and other institutions for the exercise.
The final LSM training in Greater Accra, which brought together about 200 participants from 24 districts and one (1) sentinel in Accra and Tema, was aimed at equipping the participants with skills to help clear mosquitoes at breeding sites.
Programmes Manager of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) in Greater Accra Region, Dr. Keziah Malm, said the exercise would empower the participants to do better management of the mosquito situation.
“I’m hopeful that with all these efforts, malaria would be brought down,” she said, adding that getting the needed skills to clear mosquito breeding sites was very crucial in the country’s effort to reduce malaria-related cases, some of which have led to deaths.
She advised the public to adhere to the preventive measures in fighting malaria by using insecticide treated nets.
The Environmental Health Manager, Greater Accra, Douglas Nii Ayiteh Tagoe, said malaria remains a deadly disease and must be eradicated.
He lauded the organisers of the LSM programme and said the strict implementation would help reduce malaria cases in the country.
The Greater Accra General Manager of Zoomlion, Ernest Morgan Acquah, said “we need to follow the preventive measures in fighting malaria and not underrate the mosquitoes.”
He said the public must be made aware of the dangers posed by mosquitoes and why the LSM project must be followed to destroy all mosquito breeding grounds, saying, “We need to identify where the stagnant water is and do more education in the communities.”