By Titus O. Alzumah, Project Officer, ADDRO

Titus, helping a beneficiary to hang a net

I run the Malaria Programme of the Anglican Diocesan Development and Relief Organization (ADDRO) in the Upper East Region of Ghana. I have been working with ADDRO for six years, helping to provide nets and education on malaria to vulnerable groups like pregnant women, children under five and the chronically ill.

Malaria remains a major problem in the Upper East Region, it is the most common cause of illness seen in health clinics. It has also affected my family. My one year old daughter, Win-Dilla, had severe malaria in March this year. She had to be admitted to the hospital twice in the same month and on each occasion spent five days in the hospital. It was one of

Thomas & Irene Sandow (c) Geoff Ward

We are proud to support the historic effort underway in Ghana to make sure every home has a mosquito net by the end of the year. Ghana’s entire population of 24 million people is at risk of malaria so this is a crucial first step to stop the disease from spreading. Malaria is a leading cause of poverty in many parts of Africa, costing the continent around £8 billion a year and individual families up to 25% of their household income.

On a recent trip to Ghana with singer Aloe Blacc we caught up with Thomas, a 28 year old father who

By Chris Lourenco from the Clinton Health Access Initiative

Dr Chan watches a patient being tested for malaria using a rapid diagnostic test kit during her hospital visit

25 April was World Malaria Day. We mark this day every year, but I am proud to say this year’s festivities were Namibia’s greatest. Celebrating the dramatic decline of malaria in Namibia and the shift in the country’s policy from controlling to trying to eliminate the disease, Dr Margaret Chan, the Director General of the World Health Organization, made her first visit to Namibia.

Namibia’s Minister of Health, Dr Richard Kamwi, helped encourage this visit, keen to display his country’s progress in the fight against malaria. Dr Chan praised his and Namibia’s efforts and success in this historic effort during her stay.

Annemarie Meyer reports back from Dromankuma, Ashanti Region, Ghana

Volunteers Rashida and Wisdom tell Annemarie the follow up malaria messages they are providing to the community (c) Geoff Ward

“Sleeping under an insecticide treated mosquito net every night is a simple way to help protect you from malaria.” This was the message conveyed by local volunteers, faith and community leaders during a net distribution campaign we supported in October 2011, targeting the whole of Dromankuma community in Ghana.

Through distributing and hanging 2,694 long lasting insecticide treated nets to help protect 4,106 people, the campaign has successfully increased the number of people able to sleep under a net from less than 2% to over 99% across the entire community – a huge achievement.

I visited the community four months after the nets were distributed, and it was fantastic to see what a difference the campaign has made. Everyone I met was using a net donated by the campaign and no one reported having malaria since!

Aloe met 22 year old Rashida, an expectant Mum whose family had suffered from malaria, they now all sleep safely under mosquito nets (c) Geoff Ward

Today sees the launch of a short film showcasing our recent trip to Ghana with Aloe Blacc. Aloe took time out from his tour schedule to witness the efforts underway to meet Ghana’s goal to make sure every home in the country has access to a mosquito net by the end of 2012.

Aloe will be sharing his story with people across the world through interviews with Sir David Frost tonight on Aljazeera, on CNN on Tuesday and on the BBC World Service’s breakfast show The World Today on World Malaria Day, 25 April. He has also written an in depth blog for the Huffington Post.

We are delighted to be collaborating with The Africa Channel, the entertainment network delivering award-winning content 24 hours a day, inspired by Africa, on Sky.

In the run up to World Malaria Day, The Africa Channel is broadcasting a mini series profiling two Ghanaians as they share their personal perspectives on fighting malaria. We filmed them in February to show how their community in Dromokuma, Ghana’s Ashanti Region, is part of the country wide effort to make sure every home has a mosquito net by the end of 2012.

Aloe, Esther & Maya (c) Geoff Ward

I arrived in Accra with an open mind, ready to experience and learn about life in a small village in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Malaria No More UK were kind enough to host Aloe and I on this trip to help bring awareness about malaria in Ghana. It enabled us to see firsthand the work that Malaria No More UK and their partners are doing in fight against this preventable and treatable disease.

So here’s the facts:

• 100% of Ghana’s 24 million people are at risk
• Malaria accounts for over a third of all hospital visits

We are part of a ground-breaking collaboration of global, national and local partners working towards Ghana’s ambitious aim to make sure every home in the country is protected with life-saving mosquito nets by the end of 2012.

This partnership, led by the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP), has already distributed and hung over five million nets across five regions of Ghana, helping to protect up to 10 million people – that’s over 40% of the entire population.

This month 2.5 million mosquito nets are being distributed in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. These life-saving nets, provided through support from The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, and US President’s Malaria Initiative, will be used to cover the region’s entire population of 5 million people.

Thanks to funds raised and donated by our supporters, we have been able to provide volunteers with the vital supplies needed to hang these nets in every home, provide guidance on their care and use, and help people to sleep protected from malaria.

Take a look at our photo story below, which gives a real insight into just what is involved in this mammoth effort.

Hot off the red carpet as a double BRIT award nominee, Soul singer Aloe Blacc is flying to Ghana this morning to learn about our work supporting the country’s historic goal to make sure everyone has access to a mosquito net by the end of 2012.

Aloe will spend the next four days in Ghana, with a film crew and our team members Arabella, Annemarie and Angela. Ghana’s entire population is at risk from malaria and he’ll be seeing firsthand the impact of this devastating disease which remains a leading killer of children and a major contributor to ongoing poverty in the country as it stops people from working and providing for their families.