Local attitudes towards malarial disease in a high-burden area of rural Ghana: a cross-sectional household survey.

Abstract

Ghana aims to reduce malaria incidence by 50% and malaria mortality by 90% by 2028. The new R21 malaria vaccine aims to support achieving malaria-elimination goals, but it must be met with high population confidence and uptake. In this cross-sectional household survey in Karaga District, northern Ghana, 99.4% (n=175) agreed malaria is a serious disease to children, while 90.9% (n=160) agreed or strongly agreed they would like their children aged <5 y to take the new vaccine. Thus, in these communities, the highly effective vaccine can plausibly expect to have high rates of uptake, contributing to Ghana's efforts to improve health outcomes.