The Medical Freedom Channel

“Here in Ghana, the authorities are failing to deal with the worsening malaria problem that is crippling our country and killing our people. After years of failure, it is time for a re-think. More than 17 million of Ghana’s 20 million people are infected by malaria every year, costing the nation a colossal 850 million cedis (US$94 million) for treatment alone. These figures are probably an underestimate of the real burden, as many cases go unreported. Malaria also has a huge indirect cost on Ghana’s economy due to lost productivity. Those infected by malaria are in and out of hospital and unable to work. Malaria takes an especially heavy toll on farmers. Swarms of mosquitoes make it impossible for farmers and their families to sleep indoors especially, during the rainy seasons when they are forced to sleep outdoors around bonfires.” [editor’s note: This came across my path while I was preparing this week’s issue, and seemed far more useful than anything off the top of my head this time … - SAT] (03/27/06)