Agency for the Improvement, Health and Development

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SAVE THE CHILDREN’ MALARIA PROJECT
Background:
The Dangme East District Hospital (DEDH), Ada, in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana serves several surrounding villages as well as Islands on the Volta Lake. One of the major causes of mortality and morbidity amongst cases seen in the hospital is malaria, and this is expected, considering the numerous water bodies in Ada and its surrounding villages. These serve as breeding grounds for mosquitoes which are the malaria vectors.
Children, pregnant women, immunocompromised individuals and people who have spent long periods outside malaria endemic areas, are most vulnerable to malaria infestation.



The Problem:
The DEDH is a 60-bed capacity hospital, and it attends to the health needs of men, women and children. The malaria burden in children invariably necessities the conversion of parts of the adult male and female wards into children’s wards in order to take care of the excess number of children with malaria, as well as other illnesses.
The medical team is compelled to put the children on the beds meant for adults with the obvious inconveniences of lying on beds with no protective side-railings, etc. the children are also put through the ordeal of going through the psychological torture of seeing some older patients who they share the ward with die.
The nature of the disease is such that the children report with very low blood levels, necessitating blood transfusions. This puts a heavy drain on the already strained transfusion services.



The Solution:
The lives of the children can be saved if the community hospital is supported by the provision of the following facilities:
A new ward specifically for children with malaria, with an attached play room/reading room for convalescing children
Fridges for blood storage
Blood analysers
Other minor accessories