A total of 4,039 learners from 76 Basic Schools in the Kadjebi District of the Oti Region have benefited from the distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets under a school-based malaria prevention initiative.
The mosquito nets, supplied by the PMI VectorLink Ghana, through the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), were distributed in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) as part of efforts to reduce malaria infections among schoolchildren and improve school attendance.
Ms. Mavis Nyamekye, the School Health Education Programme (SHEP) Coordinator at the Kadjebi District Directorate of the Ghana Education Service, disclosed this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Kadjebi.
She said the exercise was aimed at protecting learners against mosquito bites, reducing malaria prevalence among schoolchildren, and promoting healthy learning environments.
Ms. Nyamekye explained that the beneficiary schools were selected across the district to ensure equitable distribution, adding that every eligible learner received one treated mosquito net.
She urged parents and guardians to ensure that the children slept under the mosquito nets every night to maximise the benefits of the intervention.
“The distribution alone cannot reduce malaria unless the children consistently use the mosquito nets as intended,” she said.
The SHEP Coordinator appealed to headteachers and teachers to continue educating learners on proper mosquito net usage and other preventive measures, including maintaining clean surroundings and eliminating stagnant water that serves as breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
She expressed appreciation to the Ghana Health Service, the National Malaria Elimination Programme and other partners for supporting the initiative, saying the intervention would contribute significantly to improving the health and academic performance of learners.
Some learners and teachers who spoke to the GNA expressed gratitude for the support, describing the mosquito nets as timely, particularly during the rainy season when mosquito infestation is high.
They pledged to use the nets regularly and encouraged parents to support the initiative by ensuring the children sleep under them every night.
