WORLD MALARIA DAY- 2022

Malaria day is celebrated to create awareness about malaria and the need for us to protect ourselves from the disease. Malaria is a global health problem that spreads when an infected mosquito bites a person, thereby transmitting parasites into the person’s bloodstream. The good news about malaria is that it can be treated if symptoms are detected and reported early at a hospital. We would urge you through this blog not to ignore any symptoms of malaria, especially among children, which can lead to serious health problems like seizure, brain damage, organ failure and difficulty in breathing. Children below the age of 5 years stand a high risk of getting malaria which can lead to death, because their immune system may not be strong enough to fight the disease hence the need for all parents to be cautious.  Moreover, pregnant women and older people are also at a high risk of dying from malaria.  Some symptoms of malaria include:

1. Fever and sweating.
2. Headache.
3. Chills that cause the entire body to shake.
4. Diarrhea, Nausea, and vomiting.
5. Body aches.
6. Fatigue, chest pain, cough and breathing problems.

The theme for this year’s celebration is Harness Innovation to reduce the Malaria Disease Burden and save lives.  The WHO notes that despite study advances in lowering the global burden of Malaria, progress has stalled in high burden countries, including Ghana, in recent years.  There is therefore the urgent need for the science community to go back to working on innovations that will help control malaria.  In the meantime, the following precautionary measures can help you avoid mosquito bites that can lead to malaria:

1. Wearing long pants and long-sleeved pajamas to cover your skin when going to bed.
2. Covering your windows and doors with a screen.  Having window nets and trap doors on all bedroom doors is an excellent way to prevent mosquitoes and other insects from entering your room
3. Wrapping mosquito nets over beds.  This is especially helpful during warm seasons when it would be uncomfortable sleeping in long pants and long-sleeved pajamas.
4. Smear mosquito repellent to exposed skin when outdoors or when going to bed (in case you cannot take the measures listed above).

More importantly, let’s keep our surroundings and the environment clean to prevent mosquito breeding.  Note that any health problem can impact your sexual and reproductive health negatively.  “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.  Stay safe and healthy!