"Ongoing school-based distribution of insecticide-treated nets is deliberate, evidence-based strategy to protect children from malaria" — Prof. Akoriyea

Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Prof. Samuel K. Akoriyea, has reaffirmed the Service's commitment to reducing malaria infections among children through the nationwide distribution of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) in schools, describing the intervention as a proven strategy to protect both pupils and their families.

Addressing journalists during a media orientation in Accra on Wednesday, July 1, ahead of the 2026 Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) campaign, Prof. Akoriyea said the school-based distribution programme forms part of Ghana's broader malaria prevention strategy aimed at reducing illness and deaths among vulnerable populations, especially children.

"The ongoing school-based distribution of insecticide-treated nets is a deliberate and evidence-based strategy to protect school-age children and their households from malaria," he stated.

He explained that the initiative, being implemented in partnership with the Ghana Education Service (GES), targets pupils in Primary Two and Primary Six, using the country's educational system as a reliable platform to ensure that insecticide-treated nets reach children in every community.

According to him, distributing the nets through schools guarantees equitable access while increasing household ownership of mosquito nets, thereby extending protection beyond individual beneficiaries to entire families.

Prof. Akoriyea stressed that every net being distributed has undergone rigorous quality assurance checks and can be tracked throughout the supply chain, assuring the public that the products meet the required standards for effective malaria prevention.

He noted that the school distribution exercise complements the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention campaign, another key intervention targeted at children between three and 59 months who remain the most vulnerable to severe malaria and its complications.

The Director-General announced that the first phase of the SMC campaign has already been completed successfully in the Upper East, Upper West, North East and Oti regions. The next phase is scheduled to take place from July 2 to July 5 across the Northern, Savannah and Bono East regions.

He disclosed that this year's campaign has been strengthened through the introduction of digital registration systems, enhanced safety monitoring and the deployment of trained community health volunteers who will administer the preventive medicines through house-to-house visits.

Prof. Akoriyea encouraged parents and caregivers to cooperate with the volunteers by allowing them access to their homes and ensuring that every eligible child receives the complete monthly dosage of the preventive medication.

He emphasised that the medicines are provided free of charge, have been proven to be safe and effective, and offer the greatest protection against malaria when all treatment cycles are completed during the peak transmission season.

The campaign comes as Ghana continues to record remarkable progress in its fight against malaria.

According to the Ghana Health Service, malaria prevalence has declined significantly over the past decade, falling from 27.5 per cent in 2011 to 8.6 per cent in 2022.

Malaria-related deaths have also reduced dramatically, dropping by more than 98 per cent from over 3,200 recorded in 2011 to only 52 deaths last year.

Also lending support to the initiative, the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Prof. Ernest Kofi Davies, in a statement read on his behalf, reaffirmed the Education Service's commitment to collaborating with the Ghana Health Service to ensure the successful implementation of the campaign.

He noted that schools remain an important platform for promoting child health and supporting national efforts to eliminate malaria.

Health authorities are optimistic that the combined interventions of seasonal malaria chemoprevention and the widespread distribution of insecticide-treated nets will further reduce malaria infections among children and contribute to Ghana's long-term goal of eliminating the disease as a major public health threat.

Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith