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The nation has recorded a steady decline in malaria-related deaths and hospital admissions over the past two years, the Deputy Programme Manager of the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), Dr Nana Yaw Peprah, has revealed.
He explained that institutional malaria mortality had declined significantly, dropping from 74 per cent of recorded deaths in malaria patients in 2024 to 52 per cent in 2025.
For malaria admissions per 100,000 population, he said they had also reduced from 379,338 in 2024 to 334,538 in 2025, reflecting the impact of ongoing interventions such as improved diagnosis, treatment and prevention strategies.
“These are clear signs that the interventions we are implementing are working, particularly in preventing severe cases and deaths,” Dr Peprah said at a press briefing in Accra yesterday to mark World Malaria Day.
What the country needs to work on more seriously, however, is attaining a significant reduction in the overall number of malaria cases.
Dr Peprah said the reduction was not significant, that is, from 5.334 million in 2024 to 5.312 million in 2025.
The Deputy Programme Manager of the NMEP said while interventions were yielding positive outcomes in reducing severe illnesses and deaths, transmission levels remained relatively high.
The theme for the celebration is: “Driven to end malaria: Now we can. Now we must.”
The programme was organised by the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service.
Activities outlined for the celebration included media campaigns, youth and digital advocacy, stakeholder engagements, a health walk and a national durbar on Saturday, which marks World Malaria Day.
Dr Peprah said about 72 per cent of pregnant women received the first dose of intermittent preventive treatment, with the figure declining subsequently.
“We need pregnant women to attend antenatal clinics early and regularly so they can receive the full course of medication to protect themselves and their babies,” he said.
Dr Peprah, however, added that the distribution of insecticide-treated nets to pregnant women and children under five had improved in many regions.
On malaria vaccination for children under five, the deputy programme manager said the country administered about 6.3 million doses in 136 districts by December 2025, against an annual target of roughly 590,000.
He said the challenge they faced was administering the full course of the vaccine, particularly the fourth dose at 18 months, as well as getting mothers to bring their children for this dose.
Dr Peprah acknowledged that malaria elimination required a collective national effort and should not be seen solely as a health issue since it was linked to broader socio-economic and environmental factors.
He expressed optimism that implementing planned interventions would lead to significant reductions in those areas.
Challenges
In a speech read on his behalf, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Samuel Akoriyea, said funding gaps, climate-related factors and behavioural barriers continued to impede progress.
He called for increased domestic resource mobilisation and stronger private-sector participation, while urging the media and the public to promote preventive measures such as sleeping under insecticide-treated nets and maintaining environmental cleanliness to reduce mosquito breeding.
