Oti Region recorded the highest malaria prevalence in 2022 with 7%, according to a recent Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) report.
The Savannah Region follows with 5.4%. Oti and Savannah regions are the only regions with a prevalence of more than double the national average.
“The malaria prevalence in 2022 is highest in the Oti Region (7.0%) followed by the Savannah Region (5.4%), which are the only two regions to record prevalence more than double the national average,” GSS said in its report.
The Greater Accra Region has the lowest malaria prevalence followed by Western North and Volta.
GSS released these statistics to commemorate World Malaria Day 2023, under the theme “Time to deliver zero malaria: invest, innovate, implement”.
The GSS in its report indicated that malaria prevalence in children aged 6 to 59 months is 8.6 percent.
“Findings from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) indicate that malaria prevalence in children aged 6 to 59 months is 8.6 percent according to microscopy results. The malaria prevalence in rural areas (12.8%) is about three times that of urban (4.3%),” the GSS said.
The GSS disclosed that the malaria prevalence rate among pregnant women declined from 3.3 percent in 2019 to 2.4 percent in 2022.
GSS mentioned in its report, “Administrative data provided by the Ghana Health Service from District Health Information Management System (DHIMS) indicates that the malaria prevalence rate among pregnant women has also declined from 3.3 percent in 2019 to 2.4 percent in 2022”.
According to GSS report, prevalence of malaria in children declined over the past eight years, falling by more than a third from 26.7 percent in 2014 to 8.6 percent in 2022.
“The survey results also indicate that the prevalence of malaria in children has declined over the past eight years, falling by more than a third from 26.7 percent in 2014 to 8.6 percent in 2022,” GSS said in its report.
