20 November 2008
Mr. Felix Adipare, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in charge of the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Municipality, has said many parents in the municipality were depriving their children of the use of treated bed nets, leading to an increase in malaria among children.
He said a survey conducted indicated that most parents slept under the nets, leaving their children to sleep elsewhere and unprotected from mosquitoes.
Mr. Adipare, speaking at a Municipal Advisory Committee (MPAC) meeting at Elmina, said malaria had been on the increase in the area over the past three years and that about 40 percent of the children are suffering from it.
He said treated nets are normally distributed for use by expectant mothers and for children under one year and advised parents to do their best to protect their children.
Mr. Adipare also expressed concern about the high incidence of tuberculosis in the area saying the GHS was implementing programmes to help control the disease.
Mrs. Cecilia Arthur, a social welfare officer, said she was concerned about the incidence of polio and blindness in Elmina, Kissi, Abrem-Agona, Brenu-Akyinim, Ankwanda and Komenda and urged the health authorities to conduct a research to help determine the cause.
She also deplored the high rate of school dropout due to poverty and of teenage pregnancy.
Mr. Wilfred Adodoadji, PRO at the Municipal Directorate of Education, attributed the high rate of school dropout and teenage pregnancy to the matrilineal system of inheritance in the region.
Mrs. Arthur said many fathers have left the responsibility of bringing up children to the mothers and these fathers contribute very little to their upkeep.
She called for the enactment of by-laws to prevent children from staying out late.
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