ghana: Ghana Launches National Child Health Program

The government of Ghana this week began a major, multi-year initiative to improve the health of Ghanaian children by upgrading home-based care for common childhood illnesses. The first phase of the initiative, the “Home-based Care for Malaria” program, was launched on May 22 by the Director-General of Ghana Health Service (GHS), Agyeman Badu Akosa. Malaria is the reason for almost half of all outpatient visits and over one-third of all in-patients at GHS facilities. The disease is the cause of one of every five deaths in children under age five. The high death rate from malaria is due to a number of factors, but chief among them is improper or incomplete treatment.