Health Minister Joseph Yieleh Chireh has called for more donor support and stakeholder participation in efforts to fight against malaria. He said it was important for partners to collaborate efficiently at community, local, regional and national levels if the country was to achieve any impact and growth in malaria control. The Minister said this in a speech read on his behalf at this year's World Malaria Day celebration, on the theme: "Achieving Progress and Impact in Controlling Malaria." It was held at Nima, a suburb of Accra, on Monday. The main objective of the commemoration is to remind all traditional partners and stakeholders to continue the partnership in the fight towards the control and possible elimination of malaria in Ghana. Mr Yileh Chireh stated that the celebration was to promote education and understanding of malarial issues and to inform more people on the implementation of National Malaria Control Strategies. This includes community-based activities for malaria prevention and treatment in endemic areas across the country. He noted that the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) had introduced policies designed to control malaria to alleviate its ravaging effect on society. The interventions include the Home Management of Malaria (HMM) programme, which promotes the prompt and effective anti-malaria treatment in all fever cases among children under five years at the community level through the use of trained community health assistants. Mr Yieleh Chireh stated that NMCP had also promoted the preventive methods of malaria, including the provision of Intermittent Preventive Treatment (IPT) for pregnant women because malaria in pregnancy was a serious condition that could result in undesirable birth outcomes to both mother and the unborn baby. The current strategy of door to door distribution and hang up of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITN) was to remove the barrier of some individuals and households' inability to hang the nets. The Minister said the government, in addition to the malaria control programme, was executing a new plan which would help achieve improved strategic investments in malaria control and increased coverage towards universal access to malaria treatment and prevention through the development of the health sector. He expressed gratitude to development partners, NGOs and other stakeholders for their support towards the anti-malaria agenda. The World Malaria Day was instituted by World Health Assembly at its 60th session in May 2007 to recognise the global efforts to provide effective control of malaria. Source: GNA