First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has stated that taking necessary steps, to vigorously fight malaria will have positive implications for human development, business and economic growth of the country, which will in turn help in the realisation of the Ghana Beyond Aid (GBA) agenda.
The First Lady made this statement over the weekend when she addressed relevant stakeholders and industry players at the Corporate Award Ceremony of the Private Sector Malaria Prevention (PSMP) Project and GBC Health Corporate Alliance on Malaria Africa (CAMA)’s West Africa” Zero Malaria Now” at the Royal Kempinski Hotel in Accra.
According to her, ‘just as there is ample evidence that malaria impedes the overall economic development of Ghana and other countries of the sub-region and considering that we need a healthy future workforce for our economic development, it is about time malaria is nipped in the bud.
Malaria is also absolutely bad for business. Malaria depletes the workforce and reduces productivity. Sick employees stay home, and companies are compelled to spend huge amounts on their healthcare. The corporate heads here, can testify that this affects your profitability. And it is not only businesses that lose. Families lose and governments also lose. She explained”.
Touching on the benefits of mitigating the disease, she stressed that when malaria is eliminated, Ghana will reap enormous benefits.
“We would quicken our pace of development and become more self-reliant. This applies to all countries within the sub-region too. The sub- region must fight malaria together, for faster economic transformation. This is important because of the movement of people across borders in our sub-region,” she said.
She added that we must create a malaria-free belt in West Africa.
Known for her affinity to the cause of children and women, she held that, the most vulnerable of the victims of malaria are women and children, and that malaria greatly inhibits a woman’s ability to effectively complete household tasks, including childcare.”
Children affected by malaria she said, miss school, which obviously affects their ability to keep up with their mates.
Younger children, who contract cerebral malaria according to her, suffer brain damage that may result in life-long learning difficulties.
To this end she appealed to all and sundry to join in the fight to eliminate malaria.
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