7.2 million children targeted in second polio vaccination exercise  

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) is expected to vaccinate 7.2 million children under five years in the second round of the National Polio Vaccination Campaign scheduled to start from November 21 to 24, 2024.

Public health nurses would administer two doses of the oral polio vaccines (OPVs) to the children.

It is estimated that 18,500 healthcare workers and volunteers, organised into 11,335 teams, would be deployed to various districts to carry out the exercise in schools, bus stations and through house-to-house outreach.

The theme for the campaign: “Help kick polio out of Ghana,” is supported by the Ministry of Health, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the US, the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF and the Rotary Foundation.

The Director of Public Health, GHS, Dr Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, who announced this on behalf of the Director-General of GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, at a press conference at Korle Bu in Accra yesterday, said the second phase was estimated to cost GH¢50 million, with about GH¢7 or less for per child who is vaccinated. 

The exercise would be carried out in all 16 regions of the country, particularly in high-risk areas. 

During the first phase of the campaign, which was carried out between October 17–20, this year, over six million children under five years received the vaccine. 

A public awareness drive was also launched at the event to educate parents and guardians on the importance of the exercise.

It is focused on increasing coverage and addressing gaps identified during the first round of the campaign.

Collective efforts 

Dr Kuma-Aboagye called for collective efforts to eliminate the disease which poses a threat to children under the age of five.

He explained that the campaign was part of the GHS efforts to fight type two poliovirus (VDPV2) amid the recent detection of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) in some regions. 

The Director-General said the first round of the exercise had achieved significant coverage, and that there was the need to build on the momentum by reaching out to every eligible child in the country.

“Polio is preventable, and we cannot allow it to harm our children. This campaign is a call to action for all of us to unite and ensure that no child is left behind,” he said.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye urged the people to disregard rumours about the disease that were discouraging vaccination of children.

He urged them to cooperate with the vaccination teams to ensure that every child under five years received two drops of the polio vaccine, adding that “this is critical not only for individual protection, but for the health of our entire country,” Dr Kuma-Aboagye added.

Data

The Programme Manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) and Head, Disease Control, Dr Kwame Amponsa-Achiano, said that most regions, including Volta, achieved over 100 per cent coverage. 

However, the Greater Accra Region fell short, with only three out of 29 districts achieving high-quality campaign performance.

Dr Amponsa-Achiano said five districts, including Ayawaso West in Greater Accra and Central Gonja in the Savannah Region had performed poorly and needed urgent support.

The programme manager further explained that the second round of the campaign was aimed at improving upon the 113 per cent coverage achieved in the first round by setting a new target of a five per cent increment. 

“We have recalibrated our strategy to ensure every child in the target age group is vaccinated. This round focuses on heightened efficiency and greater community engagement,” Dr Amponsa-Achiano added.