Measles, rubella vaccination underway - Targets 5 million under-5-year-olds

A nationwide measles and rubella vaccination campaign began across the country yesterday, targeting over five million children between nine months and under-five-year-olds.

The exercise, which will end on Sunday, October 6, 2024, is also administering vitamin A supplement to the targeted population.

As part of a comprehensive programme for the exercise, authorities have set up mobile outreach points at health facilties and schools across the country as vaccination centres.

It is aimed at providing the opportunity for under-immunised children, populations that missed the vaccination opportunity altogether, and provide a booster for those who have already been vaccinated.

The Programme Manager of the Extended Programme on Immunisation, Dr Kwame Amponsa-Achiano, announced this last Tuesday at the launch of the campaign dubbed “Integrated Measles-Rubella Vaccination and Vitamin A Supplementation Campaign”.

Measles and rubella are both viral and highly contagious diseases that remain a significant threat to children although preventable.

Measles can result in severe complications, including pneumonia, blindness and even death.

Although very often mild, rubella, according to health authorities, could have devastating consequences for pregnant women by causing miscarriage or severe congenital disabilities in newborns.

Vitamin A improves eyesight and boosts child immunity.

Progress

Dr Amponsa-Achiano said although surveillance records showed that the country had made progress by having high vaccination coverage rates for measles and rubella, it had not been able to achieve 100 per cent vaccination rate.

He said the country had instead achieved around 95 per cent or a little less vaccination rate for the two conditions.

This, he explained, meant that about five to 10 per cent of children in the country were left out every year in routine vaccination.

Based on the country’s total birth cohort, the statistic meant that a whopping 70,000 to 100,000 children were left behind in the vaccination exercises every year.

Dr Amponsa-Achiano said once they were left out every year, they accumulated and would be the focus for measles and rubella outbreaks if they remained unreached over time.

“Measles elimination is only possible if population immunity is kept at more than 95 per cent for very long periods through both the routine and the supplementary immunisation activity.

Hence, we are calling for this integrated measles-rubella vaccination and vitamin A supplementation activity. We would ensure that we achieve at least the 95 per cent coverage target,” he said.

Safe vaccines

The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, whose outfit is leading the vaccination campaign, gave an assurance that the vaccines being administered were safe, highly effective and free.

“Measles and rubella vaccines have been used globally and in Ghana for decades, saving several millions of lives. Likewise, vitamin A supplementation is a proven intervention that reduces mortality in children under five.

We have also ensured that all vaccination teams are trained in infection prevention measures and to maintain the highest safety standards throughout the campaign,” he further assured.

He said they were also well prepared to address challenges such as misinformation about vaccines and relative constraints in reaching remote areas, pointing out that the teams were well equipped, the communities had been engaged and the partners were unwavering in their support.

Dr Kuma-Aboagye said caregivers and parents should be informed and empowered to bring their children to the vaccination sites.

Commitment

The Director of Public Health, Dr Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, said the campaign called for the public’s support to ensure maximum safety, adding that together, the campaign would achieve the goal of protecting the health of all children in the country.

The officer in charge of the World Health Organisation office in Ghana, Dr Frank Lule, said even though a safe and cost-effective vaccine existed, measles remained a threat.

He said in 2022, for example, 136,000 children were lost globally to measles, with most of them unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children under the age of five.

Expressing concern about the drop in immunisation, he said no country was exempted from the risk, explaining that in areas with low immunisation coverage, the measles virus could circulate freely, increasing the likelihood of outbreaks and putting vaccinated children at risk.