Residents of Fomena in the Adansi-North District of the Ashanti Region, have undergone a health screening exercise on malaria to help identify and treat those suffering from the disease.

The exercise, coinciding with a durbar, forms part of activities marking this year's World Malaria Day, and was held under the auspices of the AngloGold Ashanti (Ghana) Malaria Control Limited (AGAMal).

A team of health personnel from the District Health Directorate and AngloGold Ashanti Health Foundation (AGAHF) was on hand to provide clinical care and medication to the participants, including the Adansihene, Opagyakotwere Bonsrah Afriyie II.

"The objective is to test, treat and track suspected malarial cases as the country campaigns to raise awareness on one of the world's most-deadly diseases," Mr. Isaac Awuku Odame, the District Director of Health Services, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA), on the sidelines of the programme.

Malaria, which predominantly occurs in tropical areas, is a potentially life-threatening parasitic disease caused by infection with Plasmodium protozoa transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito.

According to the Health Directorate, malaria for three consecutive years had topped Out-Patient-Department (OPD) attendance in the District, though no death had been recorded resulting from the disease.

Giving the breakdown, Mr. Awuku Odame hinted that in 2018, the District recorded 16,009 cases of malaria as against 13, 269 cases in 2019, while 11, 304 cases were recorded last year.

He advised those who experienced some common malaria-related symptoms, including shaking chills that could range from moderate to severe, high fever, profuse sweating, headache and nausea, vomiting, anemia and muscle pain, to visit the hospital for treatment.

Mr. Edmund Oduro Agyei, Stakeholder Engagement Superintendent of the AngloGold Ashanti Ghana (AGAG) Limited, observed that half of the world's population still live at risk from "this preventable and treatable disease which costs a child's life every two minutes."

"On this day, it is also highlighted the responsibilities that we all have to end malaria within a generation and urge leaders to step up the fight and get us closer to a malaria-free world," he noted.

He said over the past two decades, AGAMal had made great progress in the malaria fight, saving more lives.

AngloGold Ashanti, he assured, would continue to implement its flagship Malaria Control Programme through AGAMal to help eliminate the disease by 2025.

Opagyakotwere Bonsrah Afriyie said the campaign to achieve the global target of eliminating malaria called for a multi-stakeholder approach and shared responsibility.

The 2021 World Malaria Day was marked on the theme, "Zero Malaria - Draw the Line against Malaria".

The Day is an internationally recognized event highlighting the global efforts to control malaria and celebrating the gains made so far.