Bolgatanga, Dec 13, GNA - The Anglican Health Service in the Upper East Region, under its 'NetsforLife' programme, distributed treated mosquito bed nets to 64 communities in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern regions. Exxomobil Foundation, Standard Chartered Bank, Coca-Cola Foundation, Starr International Foundation and White Flower Foundation jointly funded the three-year programme that cost about 888,000 Ghana cedis, through the Episcopal Relief and Development; a charitable Christian organization.

Very Reverend Dr. Jacob Ayeebo, Executive Officer of the Anglican Diocesan and Relief Organization (ADDRO), announced these at a ceremony to formally end the first phase of the programme, in Bolgatanga. He said the project was being implemented concurrently in 15 African countries where about one million treated mosquito bed nets were expected to be distributed to people in mosquito endemic communities within the three-year programme period.

Very Rev. Dr Ayeebo mentioned Bawku West, Talensi-Nabdam and Builsa Districts in the Upper East Region, Nadowli and Kariga in the Upper West and Northern regions respectively, as beneficiaries of the programme. He said about 78,000 Long Lasting Insecticide Mosquito Bed Nets (LLITBN) were distributed to women and children especially between September 2006 and September 2008.

Very Rev. Dr Ayeebo said on the average, users of LLITBN have increased from 48.26 per cent to 86.5 per cent within the three years, while knowledge about the ability of mosquitoes to transmit malaria parasite that kills pregnant women and children, increased from 45.8 per cent to 93.1 per cent. He said percentage of pregnant women, children and other people sleeping under nets increased from 63.8 to 95 per cent.

Very Rev. Dr Ayeebo said knowledge about malaria being a cause of infant mortality increased from 76.6 per cent to 97.7 per cent while knowledge about preventive measures went up from 86.5 per cent to 95.8 per cent due to efforts by community volunteers and staff of ADDRO working on the project .

He said following the successes of the first phase of the programme, the funding agencies have extended the programme to cover five years under the phase two.

Very Rev. Dr Ayeebo said this would cover 18 countries where about five million treated bed nets would be distributed, adding that in Ghana 210 communities from 21 districts would be involved. Most Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Arongo, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Tamale, said the amount of money government spent on fighting malaria each year was a whooping chunk of the national budget. He said the Church as its social responsibility was supporting the fight against malaria scourge in the country.

The Most Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Arongo said mosquitoes were a major threat to human existence, taking thousands of lives each year and said "even though the scriptures say 'Thou shall not kill', I will urge you to kill mosquitoes anytime you come into contact with them." He urged community volunteers executing the programme to convince members of their community to use treated mosquito bed nets and to desist from selling them. 13 Dec. 08