A scene during the clean-up exercise.
PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY, Novartis, in collaboration with the Chorkor Assembly, held a clean-up exercise in commemoration of the 2022 World Malaria Day.
The exercise, which started at 8am yesterday at the Chorkor T-Gardens Junction, had the youth in the area cleaning the open drains and collecting heaped rubbish from the shoulders of the road.
Novartis Medical Representative, Ernest Selasi Duptey, said the organisation decided to partner with the Chorkor Assembly because of the high incidence of malaria cases in the community.
“We have stagnant water around, and we have a lot of work to do in terms of keeping the environment clean, so we came here to support them to clean-up and create awareness about malaria,” he said.
He said malaria must not be neglected since the mosquitoes causing the ailment are still within our communities.
“Malaria is real, and we can prevent ourselves from getting the infection by keeping the environment clean and sleeping under insecticide treated nets (ITN),” he said.
Assembly Member for the area, Isaac Theophilus Nii Kpakpo Quaye, was grateful to Novartis for the support, saying the community often lacks equipment to improve its sanitation.
“The exercise will enable us reduce the rate of malaria in the community and help us educate the public about good sanitation practices,” he added.
World Malaria Day is an occasion to highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment for malaria prevention and control. It was instituted by World Health Organisation (WHO) Member States during the World Health Assembly of 2007.
The theme for the 2022 World Malaria Day is “Advance Equity. Build Resilience. End Malaria.”
BY Jamila Akweley Okertchiri