DR. KWAKU POKU ASANTE MAKING A POINT AT THE MEETING
The Kintampo Health Research Centre K.H.R.C under the auspices of the Ghana Health Service has briefed stakeholders on preparations towards the take-off of the PMC-MALVAC project in the Atebubu-Amantin municipality of the Bono East region.
According to Dr. Kwaku Poku Asante, the Director of K.H.R.C, his outfit in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is undertaking this study to ascertain the impact of combining the malaria vaccine and perennial malaria chemoprevention with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine-amodiaquine in Ghanaian children adding that this evidence based research will guide country level decision making in malaria elimination efforts.
Dr Asante indicated that all the necessary approvals including regulatory approval from the Food and Drugs Authority F.D.A and ethics approvals from the Ghana Health Service Ethics Review Committee and Kintampo Institutional Ethics Committee have been obtained.
Dr. Samuel Harrison of the K.H.R.C who took participants through the study protocol overview said malaria remains a significant public health concern despite a number of interventions adding that there were 247 million cases of malaria and 619,000 malaria related deaths in 2021 mostly in Sub Sahara African Children under 5 years.
He said recent trials in Burkina Faso and Mali showed that the combination of the malaria vaccine and seasonal malaria chemoprevention reduced the incidence of uncomplicated malaria by 60%, hospital admissions with severe malaria by 70% and deaths attributable to same by 70%.
Participants which included the local council of churches, traditional authorities, representative of the municipal Chief Imam, health personnel and the media sought clarifications on a number of issues and made suggestions towards a smooth project implementation.
Present at the meeting were the Atebubu-Amantin Municipal Chief Executive Hon. Edward Owusu and the Municipal Coordinating Director Mr. Joseph Tang.
The three year program is funded by the United States President’s Malaria Initiative through the United States Agency for International Development USAID, and led by Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) with Centre for Disease Control (CDC) as technical advisors.
PARTICIPANTS AFTER THE MEETING