The Impact of Malaria Control Interventions on Malaria and Anaemia in Children under Five after Ten Years of Implementation in the Hohoe Municipality of Ghana
Background: Malaria remains a dominant health issue among children in Ghana. We monitored the trend of long lasting insecticide net (LLIN) ownership and use and its impact on malaria and anaemia among children under five over the past decade in an area of intense, prolonged and seasonal malaria transmission. Methods: A total of 1717, 2155 and 1915 children were surveyed in June and 1717, 2155 and 1697 in November in 30 communities of the Hohoe Municipality in 2006, 2010 and 2015 respectively. The primary outcomes monitored were the trend of LLIN ownership, use and prevalence of malaria and anaemia through cross-sectional surveys. Findings: Results showed a significantly positive trend (p < 0.001) in ownership of LLIN at 20.8%, 64.8% and 83.2% for 2006, 2010 and 2016 respectively. The sharp increase in ownership between 2006 and 2010 accounted for a highly significant departure from trend (p < 0.001). Similarly, the prevalence of LLIN use was 15.1%, 42.2% and 68.3% for 2006, 2010 and 2016 respectively with a significant positive trend (p < 0.001). The prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in June showed no significant drop over the three years studied. Anaemia prevalence was 7.9%, 5.3% and 11.1% for 2006, 2010 and 2015 respectively—Anaemia significantly increased (p < 0.001) between 2010 and 2015 accounting for a significant departure from the initially decreasing trend (p < 0.001). Malaria parasitaemia over the November surveys was 40.4%, 33.2% and 26.6% for 2006, 2010 and 2016 respectively, depicting a significant decline over the years of the study (p < 0.001). A significant decrease (p = 0.006) in anaemia was observed at 12.0%, 4.3% and 8.9% for 2006, 2010 and 2015 respectively. A significant departure from the decreasing trend (p < 0.001) was noted with increasing anaemia between 2010 and 2016. Interpretation: Ownership of LLIN and its use together with other indicators of malaria prevalence generally improved five years after the implementation of a malaria control programme. Ten years after programme implementation, consistent improvement was only in LLIN ownership and use. Also malaria prevalence indicators improved in the post as compared to the pre-rainy season in the study communities.
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