Ecobank mobilises business leaders to fight Malaria in Ghana

The acting Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, Joan Mensah, has called on business leaders to join forces with the relevant stakeholders to fight malaria in the country.

She said malaria remained a major public health challenge in the country that poses serious threat to businesses and productivity.

She indicated that Ecobank had invested US$120,000 in the Zero Malaria Fund to help fight the disease in the country.

Ms. Mensah was speaking at a stakeholder roundtable meeting held on malaria and hosted by the bank at its head office in Accra on December 12, 2023.

The meeting, which was organised in partnership with Speak Up Africa and the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) as part of the Zero Malaria Business Leadership Initiative (ZMBLI) brought together 25 business leaders across different sectors.

The purpose of the meeting was to galvanise support from business leaders against malaria in the country.

In 2020, The Ecobank Group, in partnership with the non-profit organisation Speak Up Africa and the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, launched the Zero Malaria Business Leadership Initiative, which aims to stimulate private sector engagement in the fight against malaria in Africa, and supporting the Zero Malaria Starts with Me campaign endorsed by the African Union in 2018. 

The initiative is being implemented in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal and Uganda and aims to: promote the mobilisation of national resources for sustainable funding in the fight against malaria and its elimination; mobilise companies and business leaders to contribute to malaria control and elimination; and leverage Ecobank’s networks and partners to strengthen or create collaborative platforms.

The roundtable meeting succeeded in fostering a sense of unity among business leaders, emphasising the indispensable role of the private sector in malaria elimination. 

The event marked a crucial step towards Ghana's ambitious efforts of eliminating malaria, as well as setting an inspiring precedent for businesses to actively engage in the fight against malaria. 

Ms Mensah noted that malaria has dire consequences on businesses, pointing out that it affects productivity, increases staff absenteeism and health expenditure of organisations.   

For his part, the Marketing Manager at Ecobank Ghana, Dr Daniel Kasser Tee, gave an assurance of the bank’s commitment to transparency and accountability of the fund that would be donated towards malaria elimination.

He explained that a five-member steering committee had been established to oversee the administration of the Zero Malaria Fund. 
 
The Director at Anglogold Ashanti Malaria (AGAMAL), Mr Samuel Asiedu, said the company’s intervention had achieved many significant successes in the fight against malaria in the country.

He, therefore, called on the private sector leaders to support the Zero Malaria Business Leadership Initiative (ZMBLI) through donations in cash or in-kind. 

Speaking at the meeting, the Private Sector Engagement Lead at NMEP, Ms. Phyllis Owusu-Achau, said malaria accounted for 30 per cent of outpatient visits and 25 per cent of hospital admissions in Ghana. 

She also indicated that malaria and malaria related cost to businesses in Ghana in 2021 was estimated at US$6.6 million, hence needing a collective action to eliminate it.

The event was also used to introduce the Managing Director of Kinapharma Limited, Mr. Kofi Nsiah-Opoku, as the new Malaria Champion for ZMBLI. 

He pledged his commitment to continue to support malaria elimination actions in Ghana and to utilize his business networks to encourage further contributions.