Mr Samuel Sosi, Cape Coast Metropolitan Health Director has called on the Cape Coast Metropolitan assembly to improve the sanitary condition in the area to help reduce malaria cases.

He said malaria still remained the major hospital admissions among children under five years in most health facilities in the Metropolis.

Mr. Sosi said this on Thursday at the end of a two-day annual performance review conference organized by the Cape Coast Health Directorate in Cape Coast for health operators.

He said last year a total of 18,556 patients tested positive with malaria parasites out of 127,854 reported cases suspected to be malaria, whiles 11,308 out of 127,190 tested positive in 2011, representing an increase of 7,248 cases.

Mr Sosi said it was unfortunate that malaria cases were still on the increase despite the numerous interventions put in place to address the situation and called on traditional authorities and the Metropolitan assembly to enforce all the bye-laws on sanitation to help rid the area of filth.

He said 77,229 children between the ages of 9 months and 14 years were vaccinated against Measles and Rubella during the mass Measles/Rubella vaccination exercise in the metropolis.

On Guinea-worm, the Health Director said, as part of measures geared towards the certification of Guinea- worm free Ghana, 213 health Staff and 315 Volunteers have been trained on Guinea worm detection and reporting.

He called on the general public to join in the crusade against the disease by reporting any suspected case of the disease, adding that, people who report of any known case would be rewarded.

Ms. Priscilla Arhin Metropolitan Chief Executive was happy about the reduction in maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS prevalence and Teenage pregnancy cases in many of the health facilities in the metropolis and tasked the staff not to rest on their oars.

She commended the University of Cape Coast Hospital for achieving a zero per cent maternal mortality rate last year and appealed to all health facilities to endeavour to provide quality health care services to patients.

To ensure hygienic conditions in the area, the MCE said the assembly, in collaboration with the “Ghana-Netherland WASH programme,” the various health facilities have each been supplied with 10,000-litre poly–tank to store clean water for the running of the facilities.

Ms Arhin advised all the health providers at the Community Health and Planning Service (CHIPS) compounds to intensify their Home visits, School Health Service, Education and counselling to prevent and detect ailments since the essence of the CHIPS compound is to bring Health delivery closer to the people.

She advised private health facilities that have not be accredited to have their facilities registered, stressing that, the law will soon catch up with the recalcitrant ones.

Dr Kojo Azeez, the Director of the UCC hospital bemoaned the activities of some of the un-registered health facilities in the area, noting that, in some cases unqualified personnel from such facilities render services to patients and in some cases prescribe drug to them, which he said was tarnishing the good name of the doctors and nurses.

He therefore appealed to the Health Directorate to come out with measures to stop or arrest the operators of such facilities.

GNA