The mobile phone service provider, MTN Ghana, has supplied insecticide treated bed nets and thousands of cedis worth of malarial drugs to residents of selected communities across the country, as part of its annual 21-day "Y'ello Care" programme which started a week ago.

A statement issued in Accra said the first week of the 21-Day Y'ello Care exercise was dedicated to eradicating malaria. It said MTN staff members, in collaboration with Acts in Africa, a non-governmental organization dedicated to fighting malaria, had a hectic time dealing with the crowd that thronged the Ashaiman main lorry station, where the exercise took off.

The statement said out of 500 residents screened for malaria, 121, representing 24 per cent, tested positive, adding that those who tested negative were given medical talks and free mosquito nets and those who tested positive were also given drugs in addition to nets.

"On day two our staff, in partnership with Zoomlion, stormed the Ashaiman township with state of the art mosquito spraying guns and undertook a massive spraying exercise," the statement said.

The statement said the Y'ello Care team also undertook a cleanup exercise in parts of Koforidua, as well as painting and cleaning of the antenatal, diabetic and psychiatric wards of the Koforidua General Hospital. "Our staff also swept, cleaned windows, cleared weeds and painted identified locations at the hospital, while the nursing mothers and other inmates were also given insecticide treated mosquito nets," it said. It said the exercise also took the team to Kumasi and Takoradi, where the team did massive mosquito spraying, cleared various locations of weeds, and drained choked gutters.

The statement said in Bonsua in the Ashanti region, staff recorded an unprecedented community support and within few hours changed the sanitary outlook of the entire community. It said communities in the Volta region, particular Ho, also benefited from anti-malarial education.

The statement urged Ghanaians to look out for the Y'ello Care train making a stop in their communities anytime within the next two weeks, as Y'ello Care activities unfold. The ensuing two weeks of the program will see the Y'ello Care team engage in soccer and health related activities. The 2010 Y'ello Care campaign is themed "United We Care for Our Communities".