Malaria control in Northern Ghana: a scoping review

Despite the achievements of the Ghana Health Service and its partners in reducing malaria morbidity and mortality in Ghana, the disease still poses a significant public health problem and a huge expenditure on the National Health Insurance Scheme and the economy. This review examined the strategies employed to control malaria in northern Ghana, explored the progress made, and discussed the challenges that persist.

A literature search was conducted across four databases-Medline, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Library-to identify studies conducted in Northern Ghana on malaria control interventions between 1st January 2013 and 10th June 2023. The data were handled using Covidence; of the 1782 studies identified, 38 met the eligibility criteria and were included in this review. The data were analysed with MS Excel and presented in tables. Most of the studies (44.7%) were conducted in the Upper East region and mostly included pregnant women (19%), children (14%) and malaria patients (14.3%). Most of the studies used quantitative methodology and were mostly concentrated on malaria case management (28.9%), Intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp, 23.7%), and Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs, 15.8%). The least common researched area was the malaria vaccine (2.6%).

The most common strategies used were case management, LLINs, IPTp and LLITNs. However, there was no regional or intervention balance in the number of studies conducted. Further studies are required on the combined effects of these interventions as well as larval source management and malaria vaccines.