The Kwahu Afram Plains North District recorded 50,364 malaria cases out of 119,013 patients who attended the Presbyterian Hospital at Donkorkrom in the four health centres and the 39 CHPS Compound last year.

This represented about 48% of the Out Patients Department (OPD) attendance in the district.

Out of this number, 999 were pregnant women while those under five years were 8,627, children under-five years were admitted due to malaria cases and the hospital and the health centres in that year while 1,199 pregnant women were also admitted during that period.

The District Director of Health (DDH), Mr Robert Kwaku Bio disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Donkorkrom as part of the media campaign to highlight malaria as part of the USAID People for Health project.

The five-year P4H Project-March 2016- March 2021 would ensure improved access to quality health service delivery for citizens in 20 districts selected from four regions- Greater Accra, Eastern, Northern and Volta regions.

The project is being implemented by a consortium of three organisations led by SEND-Ghana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), with Penplusbytes another NGO and the Ghana News Agency as partners.

It seeks to leverage opportunities for change, building on consortium members’ existing good relations with local governments, District Health Management Teams and the USAID ongoing initiatives in the health sector.

He said the District population of 116,196 last year had 39 CHPS Compound instead of 50 with inadequate staff such as midwives nurses, medical assistance, doctors and other para-medical staff affected effective health delivery in the district.

Mr Bio noted that the delayed by the National Health Insurance Scheme to pay service providers for the supply of drugs and other medical supplies to the hospital; health delivery especially malaria cases, which was one of the major diseases affecting the people including the vulnerable in the rural areas, which affect production in the community.

He said the district hospital, the health centres and the CHPS Compound to get the needed medical stores huge sum of money for medical supplies.

The district director of Health Services attributed the high rate of malaria cases in the district to insanitary conditions at the communities and bushes surrounding which breaded mosquitoes and urged the people to keep their environment clean and also use the insecticide treated nets to reduce malaria cases in the districts.

Mr Bio said the Dorkorkrom hospital was the only hospital serving the Kwahu Afram Plains South and North district, which received referrals cases from the various centres of the south district.