By Samira Larbie
Accra, Oct 15, GNA-Hope for Future Generations (HFFG) in partnership with Socioserve Ghana and Alliance for Health & Immunisation Advocates(AHIFA) has officially launched a documentary on immunisation to deepen advocacy and mobilise support in the country.
The documentary, dubbed, “Looking Within: The Road to Vaccine Sovereignty, a vital feature of the Financing Immunization Advocacy Response Project (FAIR Project), serves as a pivotal tool in highlighting the urgent need for sustainable financial commitments to ensure Ghana’s continued progress towards vaccine sovereignty.
It showcases Ghana’s remarkable progress in immunization while highlighting the obstacles, which needed to be overcome.
The documentary, which started about a year ago features personal stories, expert insights, and on-the-ground realities, to highlight the importance of sustained investment in immunization to protect future generations.
The campaign aims to build a broad coalition that supports sustainable immunization efforts in Ghana through partnerships with civil society, advocacy groups, and influencers.
Dr Hafiz Adam Taher, Director, of External Health Cooperation and Technical Coordination Ministry of Health, launching the documentary on behalf of the Minister commended HFFG and its partners for the remarkable progress.
He said as Ghana transitions towards self-financing of immunization services, the focus on increasing domestic resource mobilization for vaccine procurement, immunization services, and primary healthcare had become critical in saving lives and pushing the country closer to achieving full immunization sovereignty.
Dr Taher said stakeholders have a long-term role to play as the country prepares to be weaned off the GAVI Fund by 2030.
Ms Sabina Morgan, the Project Coordinator, further explained that the documentary was not just a film, but part of a, more extensive advocacy campaign to drive policy change and increase resource mobilization.
She said a mass media campaign and social media outreach would be embarked on to amplify the documentary’s message, ensuring that it reaches diverse audiences across Ghana.
Ms Morgan said this would ignite a movement that calls for increased domestic resource mobilization, timely payment of immunization obligations, and the government’s co-financing of new Gavi-supported vaccines.
Ms Josephine Sackey, the Executive Director of Socioserve Ghana, said the documentary which focused on implementation areas including Eastern, Bono East and Volta regions calls on the government, private sector, and global stakeholders to prioritize long-term financial commitments and strengthen Ghana’s health security.
She said one of the central messages of the documentary is the critical need for sustainable financing, adding that without long-term financial commitments, immunization programmes risk interruption, threatening the health of communities and the broader development of the nation.
Ms Sackey called on the government and private sector stakeholders to step up their investment, ensuring that Ghana remained on the path of health security and development.
In the film, experts discuss the economic benefits of investing in immunization. Preventive healthcare, mainly through vaccines, is one of the most cost-effective health interventions, reducing long-term healthcare costs and boosting productivity by keeping populations healthy.
Mrs Cecilia Senoo, Executive Director of HFFG, commending the government for responding positively to its co-financing obligations this year, urged it to commit to its transition roadmap towards immunization self-financing.
She said this was important because, despite the progress made towards immunisation in the country, inadequate infrastructure, logistical challenges, and vaccine misinformation continue to threaten progress.
Mrs Senoo said “Immunisation is an investment and must be sustained. Let’s do this to save our children to compliment government efforts to save communities.”
Queenmothers, partners among other participants at the event commended HFFG and partners for the documentary to help increase public awareness and understanding of the importance of immunization in the country.
GNA