NGO proposes establishment of immunisation fund
Future Generations International (FUGI), a local non-governmental organisation (NGO), has proposed the establishment of an Immunisation Sustainability Fund (ISFund) to sustain childhood immunisation in the country.
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The Executive Director of FUGI, Dr Joan A. Awunyo-Akaba, said at a media briefing in Accra that the fund would ensure that the gains chalked up in the immunisation programme were not erased.
At present, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), through donors, supports Ghana with over $30 million worth of vaccines each year for its expanded programme on immunisation (EPI).
However, this support is not sustainable, as countries are now expected to develop and fund Financial Sustainability Plans (FSPs) to sustain their immunisation programmes beyond GAVI’s support.
Ghana would, therefore, need a minimum of $30 million annually to pay for the full cost of vaccines when GAVI’s support ceases in 2020.
Immunisation in Ghana
Dr Awunyo-Akaba said due to Ghana’s economic challenges, it would be difficult for the government to bear the full cost of vaccinating children.
Therefore, it was crucial for the country to identify sustainable funding to augment its immunisation budget.
She said the FUGI would mobilise about $30,000 from the fund’s founder members as seed capital to kick-start the initiative.
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Rationale for the fund
Touching on the rationale for the establishment of the fund, Dr Awunyo-Akaba said the country was presently using new and expensive vaccines to save the lives of children from a variety of diseases and adolescents from cervical cancer using HPV vaccines.
However, the cost of the new vaccines was high and the country could be bearing the full cost of vaccines in the coming years on transitioning from Gavi’s support.
“Thus, Ghana must be proactive to strategise and obtain additional funds to meet the preventive health needs of our children,” she said.
Mobilising funds and strategies
Dr Awunyo-Akaba said the proposal, when implemented, would involve mobilising funds from the public and investing same to grow to support the government’s financing of immunisation.
Therefore, she said, the ISFund expected the full support of President John Dramani Mahama and all future Presidents if its mission, vision and laudable goals were to be attained.
She called on the ministries of Health, Education and Gender, Children and Social Protection to help promote and support the initiative.