NGO launches immunisation campaign for Nkwanta-North
The Global Action for Women Empowerment (GLOWA) a rural-urban integrated non-governmental and non-profit-making organisation, has launched a four-year campaign for the immunisation of children under age one.
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The programme will be undertaken in 10 deprived, remote and very hard-to-reach satellite communities in the Nkwanta-North District of the Volta Region.
The project, dubbed “Get Every Child Immunised in Nkwanta North District," is part of a joint action under the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation - Health System Strengthening Project (GAVI – HSS Project). It aims at mobilising community leaders/stakeholders’ support and creating high demand for immunisation of children, particularly, those below age one to five to achieve 100 per cent coverage for immunisation in the 10 low-performing target communities within the Nkwanta-North District.
Choice of Nkwanta North
According to the Chief Executive Officer of GLOWA, Ms Enyonam Kugbeadzor, Nkwanta-North District was chosen because it was among the 20 lowest-performing districts in Ghana in terms of the 90 per cent national target for immunisation of children under five.
She said the project was being implemented in collaboration with the Nkwanta-North District Health Directorate, District Assembly and Tehayon Foundation, with funding from GAVI Alliance through the Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health and the Ghana Health Service.
Ms Kugbeadzor announced that statistics provided by the District Health Directorate showed that 37 per cent and 50.57 per cent of children aged under one in these very hard-to-reach communities were not immunised in 2013 and 2014 respectively due to difficulty in reaching those communities as well as other logistical challenges.
She indicated that the project would mobilise resources from all key stakeholders involved in providing quality healthcare services in the district to attain 100 per cent immunisation coverage for children under 18 months in the 10 hard-to-reach communities.
Shortage of BCG vaccine
Ms Kugbeadzor added that the shortage of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccines in the district was worrying, but a consultative meeting the project team held with the Volta Regional Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) officer, Mr Godwin Afegbe, indicated that it was a national problem and the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service had taken the necessary action to make the vaccine available to all regions and districts within the shortest time.
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The Nkwanta-North District Director of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Laud Boateng, called for public-private partnership (PPP) in addressing challenges facing the health sector in the district.
He commended GLOWA and the Health Coalition for selecting Nkwanta North District for the project and pledged his support for the project. He called on various stakeholders in the district to come together to help improve immunisation coverage in the district.
District support
At the launch of the project, the Nkwanta North District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Martin Kidibi Kudor, lauded the GLOWA project team for extending its operations to the 10 remote hard-to-reach communities and bringing to his attention some challenges the communities and health service providers faced.
He said achieving at least 90 per cent immunisation coverage for children under five was a priority for the district so the assembly was willing to complement the efforts of GLOWA and the District Health Management Team (DHMT) to reduce neonatal and infant mortality in the district.
The Project Officer of GLOWA, Mr Wisdom Vordzorgbe, said the beneficiaries communities were: Gbayol-Akura, Malanga, Jayim-Akura, Agbakura, Jejekura, Suruku 1&2, Teacher-Kope, Isorkura and Kplenkplen.
He indicated that those areas were only accessible through the use of pickup vehicles, motorbikes and boats, but in some cases, one had to walk for about two kilometres before reaching most of the communities.