If adopted, the MTTT programme could become one of the flagship malaria prevention and control interventions and contribute to malaria elimination. An earlier study on MTTT in Ghana underscored the effectiveness of the MTTT interventions in reducing the burden of malaria in rural settings. In this programme, trained volunteers provide MTTT services through a door-to-door testing of malaria using Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) and treatment using artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACTs). This programme relies on the principles of community engagement to strengthen primary health care service in the continuity of malaria care. The implementation is being coordinated by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) of the University of Ghana. In Ghana, this initiative is being implemented in some selected communities such as Abease Newsite, Fante Town, Zongo (Adjenase/Kweitey), Piem/Odumsisi, Adesa, Sacchi/Tabankro and Odumtokuro in the Eastern Region of Ghana. MTTT targets asymptomatic individuals who may carry the parasite but are not ill. This is an active case detection process aimed at improving coverage of treatment in a timely manner. MTTT involves parasitological testing of an entire population of a defined geographical area from door-to-door and treatment of confirmed positive cases with an appropriate antimalarial medicine at approximately the same time. Currently there is renewed interest in community-based mass test, treat and track (MTTT). However, it faces the problem of loss to follow-up of patients in Ghana. ![]() The health facility-based test, treat and track (TTT) was introduced by the World Health Organization as one of its strategies to reduce the burden of disease in endemic countries. Community-based activities towards supporting the continuity of essential services, such as malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment, with its distinctive capacities for health care delivery and social engagement has been prioritized across the world. The 2018 Astana Global Conference on Primary Health Care emphasized the integration of community engagement into primary health care services. As a result, Ghana has rolled out a number of community-based interventions to help reduce the malaria burden such as distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN), test treat track (TTT) at health facilities and seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC). Nevertheless, in both forest and coastal ecological zones, malaria parasite prevalence peaks twice in a year. Parasite prevalence is ecologically seasonal, peaking in a single wet season (June–October) in the northern savannah area. Ghana malaria transmission is heterogeneous and differs along varying ecological zones. Malaria accounts for 40% of all OPD attendance, with the most vulnerable groups being pregnant women and children under five. Malaria is endemic in Ghana and all the 30 million inhabitants are prone to malaria infection. ![]() There were an estimated 14 million more malaria cases and 47,000 more deaths in 2020 compared to 2019. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) data for 2018, about 228 million cases of malaria and 405,000 deaths were reported worldwide, with Africa displaying the greatest number of cases and the highest mortality. Malaria is the most devastative infectious parasitic disease, killing more than one million people annually. Malaria is a preventable condition of public health interest with high annual morbidity and mortality. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of EDCTP.Ĭompeting interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. ![]() The EDCTP played no role in the design of the study and data collection, analysis and interpretation for this study. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.ĭata Availability: All relevant data are presented in the paper.įunding: This article was produced by DetI-MTTT project which is part of the EDCTP2 programme supported by the European Union (grant number TMA2018CDF-DetI-MTTT) won by NIC. This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. Received: SeptemAccepted: SeptemPublished: October 13, 2022 Ebenso, University of Leeds, UNITED KINGDOM (2022) The impact of COVID-19 on implementation of mass testing, treatment and tracking of malaria in rural communities in Ghana: A qualitative study. Citation: Cheng NI, Tabong PT-N, Netongo PM, Mensah BA, Chu CE, Yaw E-B, et al.
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