Dr. Kumah Aboagye disclosed this in Sunyani during the launch of the Malaria Vaccine Expansion Implementation Programme.

The implementation of the programme is expected to be increased and expanded from the current 42 districts to 93 districts.

Dr. Aboagye disclosed that the cases of malaria recorded in 2021 were so alarming the Ghana Health Service is taking all the necessary steps to reduce the numbers and also bring down the number of malaria-related deaths.

“There were about 5.7 million confirmed cases of malaria in 2021 and 275 deaths. Children under the age of 5 who account for less than 20 percent of the population, accounted for 1.6 million of these cases, thus 28.1 percent and nearly half of the deaths that occurred in 2021.”

“The current trend of the malaria disease burden emphasizes the need to explore proven cost-effective tools to complement the existing interventions. Ghana Health Service is working toward the target of 90 malaria mortality and deaths and a 50 percent reduction in malaria cases,” Dr. Aboagye added.