In Domeabra, in western Ghana, the employee of the NGO Agamal is expected as the messiah. In its reservoir, a new type of insecticide to control malaria, an epidemic that has infected nearly 5 million people and caused 600 deaths in 2017. "Before, adults had to go to the hospital devastated by the fever and the children were convulsing, "says Nana Otaa Prempeh, resident of Domeabra.

To stem the epidemic, the country has authorized a third-generation insecticide. Despite possible health risks, the product must be spread on every square inch of the home.

In this hospital, doctors are already seeing the positive effects of this new insecticide. "Before, this room could be filled by patients with malaria, but since the launch of the anti-malaria program, the number of cases has decreased significantly, and today we only have one patient suffer from palu in the clinic, "says Kwadwo Anim, Chief Medical Officer. The number of patients has dropped from several thousand to a few tens every month.

Insects more and more resistant

In this laboratory, researchers are studying insect resistance to insecticides. Because if a single mosquito survives chemicals, it develops antibodies that will be passed on to future generations. "If we had not had this third generation insecticide, the vector of the disease, ie the mosquitoes, would have become even more resistant," said Samuel Asiedu, director of the Agamal program. This program is managed by AngloGold Ashanti, owner of the Obuasi gold mine. But the initiative is not only altruistic: it also helps to reduce employee absenteeism.