Foundation commends Ghana’s immunisation programme

Ghana has been commended for being the first country in the sub-region to meet the global benchmark of 90 per cent coverage for routine immunisation of children.

This means that nine out of every 10 Ghanaians are protected against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, three of the six dangerous childhood killer diseases.

The commendation is published in a report by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, ahead of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly taking place in New York from September 12 to 25, 2017.

With the report dubbed, ‘Goalkeepers - The stories behind the data 2017’, the foundation is set to publish on issues tied to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The report

The report said the country’s attainment of 90 per cent immunisation “is truly a remarkable achievement for Ghana’s Ministry of Health, and well worth celebrating across the continent”.

It said In 2012, Ghana became the first African nation to introduce pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines at the same time, simultaneously tackling the leading causes of the world’s two biggest childhood killers – pneumonia and diarrhoea.

It said Ghana’s leadership on dual introduction paved the way for other African and Asian countries to follow suit, stating that: “We are confident that Ghana will show the same leadership on the SDGs.”

The report discusses 18 selected indicators, including child and maternal mortalities, family planning and HIV, that are fundamental to people’s health and well-being and will be published annually until 2030 to track their progress or otherwise.

The foundation, through Gavi, a global Vaccine Alliance, created by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, brings together public and private sectors and presents a shared goal of creating equal access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries.

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Gavi Alliance

In a telephone interview with the Director for Vaccine Delivery and Global Development Programme at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr Orin Levine, he said one of Africa’s great successes in reducing child mortality was vaccination driven by community participation.

Speaking on progress made on vaccinations, particularly as they pertained to child health and how further efforts were required to continue lowering child mortality rates across the African continent, he said 14,000 child deaths had been prevented through vaccination.

According to him, through vaccination, many diseases such as small pox, polio and epidemic meningitis had been controlled in many communities in Africa.

Dr Levine, who is the foundation’s focal point for engagement with the Gavi Alliance and leads the foundation’s efforts to accelerate the introduction of new vaccines and related technologies to improve routine immunisation systems, said Gavi was working at developing new vaccines for typhoid fever for children.

Gavi, he said, was also working on better vaccines against meningitis and pneumonia, saying GAVI had helped more than 70 countries vaccinate 600 million children, saving more than seven million lives.