Juaso (Ash), March 5, GNA - Members of the Asante-Akim South District Assembly have pledged part of their sitting allowance to support the campaign against malaria as part of efforts at helping to fight the disea= se in the area.

They unanimously agreed at their ordinary meeting at Juaso that GH¢2.00 should be deducted from their allowance for this. Others also made additional personal cash donations.

This was after the assembly had received the district's malaria advocacy=

needs survey report and action plan by the Malaria Advocacy Team. Formed in the year 2008, the Team is tasked with the responsibility of mobilizing support for implementation of malaria control policies, strategies and programmes to bring down the disease in the area.

Its activities are mainly funded by the Johns Hopkins University Centre for Communication Programs under a project dubbed, "voices for malaria - free=

future" in collaboration with the National Malaria Control Programme.

Mr Emmanuel Fiagbey, Country Director of the Centre, described malaria a= s a "persistent public health problem in Africa" and said all should join han= ds to tackle it. More than one million people die from the disease, each year, across the=

world and about 90 per cent of the deaths occur in Africa. Mr Fiagbey said the disease could be effectively prevented and treated i= f control programmes were adequately funded. The District Director of Health Services, Mr Danso Yeboah, told=

the assembly that 36,000 malaria cases were reported in the district last=

year as against 21,117, in 2008. He said they had so far distributed 8,815 insecticide treated nets to th= e population. The District Health Director appealed to the assembly to promptly releas= e the mandated 0.5 percent of its share of the Common Fund to support malar= ia control programmes in the district. 05 March 10