By Benjamin Akoto, GNA
Koforidua (E/R), April 26, GNA – Mrs Harriet Nuamah Agyeman, Senior Programmes Officer at Send-Ghana, has said there should be guidelines on how the 0.5 per cent District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) to malaria is utilised.
In that case, she said, Assemblies could not go against the disbursement of the fund since the guidelines would ensure health directorates followed laid down procedures for implementing the malaria intervention fund.
“We think that because the 0.5 per cent is part of the Assembly Common Fund and it is lodged in the account of the Assembly, they exercise their discretion as to how to disburse the funds making the health directorates are not able to access the fund,” she added.
She proposed that such a fund could be deducted from the source and given directly to the health directorates to embark on malaria campaign activities.
Mrs Agyeman said this during an interaction with the media at the close of a district-level dialogue and validation of a report on the 0.5 per cent DACF to malaria-related expenditure in the New Juaben South Municipality.
The project dubbed, “People for Health,” is being partnered by Send-Ghana, Penplusbyte and Ghana News Agency to champion the campaign.
It is aimed at addressing health issues around HIV and AIDS, Malaria, Water and Sanitation as well as Hygiene and Nutrition.
Mrs Agyeman said most health directorates were not aware of the 0.5 funds, therefore, “they are not able to access the fund while those directorates are aware of it, the fund is not released to them.”
She encouraged health directorates to ensure that they submitted their plans on malaria and followed up so that they could access the fund for implementation.
He told Chief Executives to ensure that reports submitted by health directorates reflected what it had done concerning malaria within a quarter and a year.
They should also go further to question the directorates if nothing had been done on malaria.
Mr Paul Guuh, a Representative of the Focal Person on Malaria, said malaria was one of the major public health burdens that Ghana was faced with, but added, the sustainable solution against malaria greatly falls on behavioural change.
He urged assemblies and community leaders to enact by-laws against the misuse of the long-lasting insecticidal net to ensure beneficiaries were held responsible for its improper use.
He said a law was necessary because despite investment from donors and the government most mosquito nets distributed to households were not used for the right purpose.
Ms Iris Dalaba, New Juaben South Municipal Planning Officer, said the Assembly was committed to going by the guidelines of the Common Fund and encouraged health directorates to always submit their plans on malaria for the release of the fund.
GNA
