Malaria remains a major threat to children’s health and education – Dr. Apaak

Deputy Education Minister Dr. Clement Abas Apaak has highlighted the impact of malaria on children’s education and household finances, saying the disease continues to impose a burden that extends beyond public health.

He said children who fall ill with malaria lose valuable learning time, while parents and guardians are forced to spend money caring for them.

He made these remarks at a national workshop on malaria-free mosquito technology in Accra on Wednesday, November 4, 2026.

According to Dr. Apaak, the Ministry of Education supports efforts to explore new scientific approaches to eliminating the disease because of its impact on children’s well-being and education.

“Malaria remains one of the great threats to children’s health,” he said.

“Every child who falls ill is a lesson missed, and every parent who nurses a sick child carries a burden that reaches the household budget.”

Dr. Apaak noted that Ghana had made progress in the fight against malaria but continued to record millions of cases annually.

“Ghana has made real progress. Yet more than 5.3 million cases were still recorded last year, and insecticide resistance is steadily wearing down the tools we rely on. If we are serious about elimination, we must be serious about new science,” he stated.

He made the remarks at the National Co-Creation Workshop on Malaria-Free Mosquito Technology for Malaria Elimination in Ghana, organized by the Ghana National Research Fund in partnership with the Gates Foundation and the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens.

The workshop brought together researchers, scientists, regulators and other stakeholders to examine the potential of the emerging technology and discuss its implications for Ghana.

Dr. Apaak said universities and research institutions would be central to developing the scientific expertise required to support any future programme.

He explained that these institutions train specialists in fields such as entomology, genetics, biotechnology, bioinformatics, regulation and social sciences.

He added that strengthening research capacity locally would also enable Ghanaian graduates and scientists to build careers in the country.

“When research of this calibre is anchored at home, our graduates build careers at home, and Ghanaian scientists become the trusted voices that communities listen to,” he said.

The Deputy Minister urged participants to approach the discussions with openness and ensure that any roadmap emerging from the workshop reflects Ghana’s scientific priorities and the concerns of its communities.

Malaria-free mosquito technology is an emerging scientific approach being explored as a possible tool for malaria elimination.

Dr. Apaak said the technology had not been released anywhere in the world and remained at the laboratory evidence and modelling stage, making further research and assessment necessary before any decisions on its use.