Editorial Content

Using data from the Navrongo Demographic Surveillance system in 2007 I found that as much as a third of deaths in the Kassena-Nankana district of northern Ghana were attributable to malaria. From same analysis, it was shown that if malaria was eliminated from this population at that time, life expectancy at birth would likely have increase by more than six years.

Since then, while malaria has remained a public health problem in this population and indeed, throughout Ghana, considerable progress has been made in reducing morbidity and mortality over the past 2-3 decades. For instance, the 2018 World Malaria Report noted that while malaria accounted for about 4% of the global burden of the disease, malaria-attributable mortality has declined from about 19% in 2010 to 4.2% in 2016.

These statistics show that Ghana has made significant strides in its fight against malaria. Eliminating malaria, SDG 3, is a critical milestone. The under 5 years’ case fatality rate in malaria has declined from 15% to 11% from 2010 to 2016.

As we celebrate World Malaria Day, we urge our health authorities and the population as a whole to continue to make investment in fighting malaria in this endemic setting