By Dennis Peprah
Odomase, (Bono), March 6, GNA-The Sunyani West Municipal Directorate of Health attain successes in 2024, making some significant achievements in the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) coverage in the Municipality.
The EPI’s mandate is to reduce morbidity and mortality of vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) through immunization as an essential component of Primary Health Care (PHC).
Ghana’s EPI continues to grow with the introduction of new vaccines and appropriate interventions to fight Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPDS).
Checks reveal that the programme started in 1978 in Ghana with six vaccines and currently 13 vaccine preventable diseases are targeted by the programme.
According to Mrs Benedicta Oppong Fremah, the Sunyani West Municipal Disease Control Officer, the directorate was able to reach out to and immunize 89.9 percent of children below one year (4,840 children) against measles in 2024.
She said malaria RTSS immunization reached out to 3,512 children, representing 59 percent of the 5,789 targeted children in the municipality, saying the BCG immunization against tuberculosis also reached out to 3,473 children, reaching 58.7 percent.
Mrs Fremah gave the figure when she was speaking at the opening session of the 2024 Annual Performance Review Meeting of the Directorate, held at Odomase, the municipal capital, and attended by chiefs, queens, health workers and other stakeholders.
She said the directorate was unable to achieve 10 percent coverage on the EPI due to several challenges, including lack of motor bikes for outreach programmes, intermittent shortages of vaccines, inadequate personnel among others.
The Reverend Esther Akua Konadu Prempeh, the Sunyani West Municipal Director of Health commended the health workers for their hard work and the stakeholders for their support.
She said the directorate was determined to achieve more significant health outcomes in 2025, and called for assistance towards tackling some of the immediate needs of the directorates.
Rev Prempeh expressed concern about the deplorable condition of some Community-based Health Planning Service (CHPS) compounds, lack of motor bikes for outreach exercises, as well as lack of funds for health activities and refrigerators for vaccine storage.
She said the condition of the Aduonya, Kwabena-Kuma, Kantro CHPS compounds was very bad, and appealed for support towards their rehabilitation, saying personnel attrition had also hit the directorate, calling for the posting of more health workers to the local communities.
GNA