Ghana Health Service to vaccinate five million children
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) will to this year vaccinate five million children under five years against childhood diseases in the country.
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Consequently, the service will embark on a media campaign and also intensify interactions with opinion leaders to encourage parents to send their children for vaccination.
Addressing the media yesterday, the Programmes Manager of the Expanded Programme of Immunisation (EPI) of the GHS, Dr George Bonsu, said the service was not happy that one out of every 10 children was not vaccinated last year.
He said children who could not be vaccinated faced the risk of contracting childhood diseases and dying as a result.
The media briefing was to highlight the activities for the African Vaccination Week (AVW) and Child Health Promotion Week (CHPW) slated for May 24-30, 2015.
The theme for the AVW is: “Vaccination, a Gift for Life”, while that of the CHPW is: “I am a newborn, keep me clean, help me live”.
Immunisation in Ghana
Records from the GHS indicate that as a result of immunisation, there was no reported case of polio in 2008, while neonatal tetanus was eliminated in Ghana in 2011.
According to the records, there had not been any documented death from measles in Ghana since 2003, while there had been a drastic reduction in pneumonia and diarrhoea cases.
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Dr Bonsu said unimmunised populations were prone to infections and indicated that “if this continues, vaccine-preventable diseases will not be curtailed and gains made will be reversed”.
Therefore, he said, the EPI would use the vaccination week to renew national efforts to increase awareness of immunisation.
Importance of immunisation
He noted that immunisation was one of the most successful and cost-effective health interventions ever introduced.
“Immunisation is a child’s best chance of survival against life-threatening and debilitating diseases, especially in developing countries.
“Apart from the provision of clean water, immunisation against vaccine preventable diseases has saved more lives than any other public health intervention,” he said.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) 2010 report, immunisation prevented about three million deaths every year from vaccine preventable diseases.
A medical officer with the Family Health Division of the GHS, Dr Edward Antwi, called for a concerted effort to increase the reach of vaccination in the country.
“A lot of work has to be done in Ghana as children continue to die,” he said.
Deputy Health Minister
In a speech read on his behalf, the Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Victor Bampoe, urged parents to maintain good hygiene to save their children from contracting diseases.
“As parents, it is our responsibility to control newborn infections by always washing our hands with soap and clean water before handling or feeding our babies,” she said.