The Commander of the Royal Guard of Asante, Anantahene Baffour Agyei Fosu Twitwiakwa II, has on behalf of His Majesty Otumfou Osei Tutu II, launched the Raid for More campaign and initiative in the garden city of Kumasi.
The colourful event, which came off on Friday the 18th of March 2016 on the ancient Asanteman Palace grounds of Nana Osei Bonsu in Adum, was attended by many dignitaries from across Ghana, many of them prominent in the business, political and social life of the country.
The Raid for More Campaign is an innovative initiative aimed at drawing attention to the importance of prevention in reducing the malaria burden in Ghana. The initiators are SC Johnson, a global, US-based, company with a long presence in Ghana, and the owners of the Raid Insecticide brand.
As part of the campaign, SC Johnson has deployed mPedigree’s Goldkeys and Acodion technologies on millions of packs of RAID products to enable them reach the millions of Ghanaians who patronised the products with malaria prevention tips.
To encourage the educational effort, buyers of these products who text unique codes on scratch labels attached to the products also stand the chance to win prizes every month, including luxury Hyundai sedan vehicles. Retail agents that promote the dissemination of the information stand to win instant airtime valid on all major telecom networks in Ghana.
The prize distribution and educational content portions of the campaign are managed using mPedigree’s award-winning Goldkeys and Acodion platforms.
The case for highlighting, and even emphasising, prevention in the country’s anti-malarial efforts is backed up by a growing body of evidence. Ghana loses $800 million to malaria every year, a cost split evenly between private citizens and the government.
This cost does not fully reflect the impact on the relatives and co-workers of the 3.5 million Ghanaians who stop contributing to the social, political and economic life of this country for many weeks every year because of malaria. In fact, outpatient cases of malaria are in the region of 12 million incidents a year.
Yet, studies dating back to 2006, drawing on DFID data, suggests that with an investment of just $20 million most of the child and infant deaths due to malaria can be prevented.
The promoters of the Raid for More campaign believe that by spurring a national focus on malaria prevention, a large chunk of the nation’s resources can be saved, even as millions of lives are touched and improved.
–
Source: Kojo Akoto Boateng/citifmonline.com/Ghana