The Parliamentary Select Committee on Health has pledged to ensure the strengthening of the larval source management programme targeted at immature mosquitoes to support the elimination of malaria in the country.

​According to the committee, despite some challenges they witnessed, the programme was a critical component of any effective integrated vector management (IVM) targeted at killing immature mosquitoes before they develop in stagnant water to cause malaria.

The Chair of the Health Committee, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie, gave the assurance while addressing the media after an inspection tour of mosquito breeding sites in various districts in the Ashanti Region, Thursday, March 2, 2023. Touching on the problems, he indicated that some of the breeding sites they visited in Tafo in the Eastern Region, for instance, had dried out due to the dry season.

“We were struggling to find the breeding sites, which originally would have to be mapped out, and easily assessed. But then also it was difficult for us to assess these sites.”

He also observed that some of the sprayers trained to undertake the spraying exercise were also a challenge.

“For some reasons, some of them [the workers] have left the job so you have a huge population, wide coverage area, but few people - about 8 or 9 - doing the spraying. It tells you that they are struggling. And so, therefore, work is being done but it won’t be effective,” he added.

These challenges notwithstanding, Dr. Ayew Afriyie asserted that larviciding was an effective tool for  managing insecticide resistance in malaria control in the country.