GHANA – The Government of Ghana has kicked off the first phase of polio vaccination campaigns targeting children under 5 years with the support of Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partners in an attempt to keep the resurging virus at bay.
Ghana is working closely with the GPEI partners including World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, Rotary International, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to roll out the polio vaccination campaign across all 16 regions of Ghana.
The national vaccination campaign against polio follows the confirmation of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in Ghana from two acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases particularly one case from North Gonja District in Savanna Region and one case from West Mamprusi in North East Region.
The World Health Organization is supporting Ghana’s Ministry of Health to step up the polio fight and the polio vaccination drive is expected to increase population immunity against the Type 2 Poliovirus as well as break transmission of the disease.
In addition, WHO and other GPEI partners have supported the Ghanaian Government with financial, logistical and technical support to reach and vaccinate all eligible children across the country.
The campaign marks a key milestone in our quest to contain the ongoing polio outbreak in Ghana. The tools for halting transmission of polioviruses have stood the test of time. I am encouraging all caregivers of children under five years to ensure that no child is left out in this immunization campaign.
WHO Ghana Country Office highlighted that the ongoing polio vaccination round targets to vaccinate Ghanaian children under 5 years of age from 1st September 2022 to 4 September 2022 while the second polio vaccination round is scheduled for 6th October – 9th October 2022.
“Over six million children across Ghana are expected to receive the novel Oral Polio Vaccine Type 2 (nOPV2) for each of the rounds,” the World Health Organization pointed out.
WHO outlined that the nOPV2 vaccine is a next-generation version of the monovalent Oral Polio Vaccine (mOPV2) and has been shown to be safe and effective in protecting against type 2 poliovirus.
The agency further said that the nOPV2 vaccine is more genetically stable thus decreases the likelihood of cVDPV2 emergence in low immunity settings.
WHO Representative in Ghana Dr. Francis Kasolo emphasized the need for enhance polio surveillance and proactive response to curb the outbreak while calling for a broader coalition of all stakeholders to fight against polio and emerging public health emergencies.
“The campaign marks a key milestone in our quest to contain the ongoing polio outbreak in Ghana. The tools for halting transmission of polioviruses have stood the test of time. We must all join the fight against the polio outbreak and other public health emergencies, say no to misinformation,” added Dr. Kasolo.
In addition, Deputy Director General of the Ghana Health Service Dr. Anthony Adofo Ofosu urged members of the public to keep the environment clean and maintain good personal hygiene while highlighting the critical role of vaccination in the prevention of polio.
“We should, at all times, remember to wash our hands with soap under running water specifically before and after handling a child, preparing food, eating, feeding the child and after visiting the toilet. We should also train the children to do same or help them do same,” Dr. Adofo Ofosu stressed.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister for Health Hon. Mahama Asei Seini pledged government continuous partnership with the GPEI to make the fight a success whilst urging the general public to support the immunization campaign.
Hon. Seini encouraged all caregivers of children under five years to ensure that no child is left out in this immunization campaign while noting that despite the significant efforts towards the eradication of polio, many children are still at risk of the virus.
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