Ghana joined the rest of the world to celebrate the 2014 World Health Day (WHD) at the forecourt of the Ghana Health Service Headquarters in Accra. The focus this year was on Vector Borne Diseases (VBD) which includes Malaria, Lymphatic filariasis (which can cause Elephantiasis) and Yellow Fever. Highlighting the serious and increasing threat these diseases pose to global health and the need to protect ourselves from the vectors such as the mosquitoes which play a key role in the transmission of VBD, the slogan for the campaign was “small bite, big threat”. The function was graced by the Honorable Minister of Health, the Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), the WHO Representative to Ghana, health workers and people from all walks of life.

The formal ceremony was preceded by a cleanup exercise of the Tema Station a popular transport hub for commuters heading for different parts of Accra and beyond. This created the opportunity to impress upon the teeming people who flocked in out of the station the need to keep our environment clean to deprive the vectors of their breeding sites. 

The Program Manager for Neglected Tropical Diseases Control Program (NTDCP) Dr Biritwum and Mrs Wilmot from the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) elaborated on the burden of VBD in Ghana and the various interventions that were being undertaken to reduce them. Dr Appiah-Denkyira, the GHS Director General stressed the need for empowering communities to take responsibility for keeping their surroundings clean to minimize the spread of disease. Dr Magda Robalo the WHO representative in her statement re-iterated that the health sector cannot, on its own, prevent vector proliferation and vector-borne diseases. She called on other sectors such as environment, agriculture and local government to play their role in the fight against VBDs so that collaboratively the needless suffering and deaths caused by vector-borne diseases could be reduced.

The Minister of Health, Honorable Ms Hanny-Sherry Ayitey, who spoke in the local language for the benefit of the non-English speaking men, women and children in the audience, urged everyone to adopt the protective measures against VBD including sleeping under mosquito nets and supporting good environmental sanitation practices.

Lively drumming and dancing by the Ghana First Supporters’ Union spiced up the occasion. Participants at the launch patronized the free rapid diagnostic testing for malaria and lymphatic filariasis being offered by the NTCP and NMCP.