By Regina Benneh
Sunyani, March 8, GNA – Dr Adinkra Kyeremeh, the Sunyani Municipal Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), says there is no record of childhood disease outbreak in the Municipality despite the shortage of childhood vaccines in the country.
Dr Kyeremeh advised mothers not to panic because of the shortage, saying they must rather have hope in Mr Kwaku Agyemang Manu, the Health Minister’s assurance of supplies in the next few weeks.
He observed some mothers out of fear were anticipating an outbreak of childhood diseases to probably affect their children and explained the vaccine was from time to time on schedule dates up to five years.
Dr Kyeremeh told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Sunyani that the shortage of vaccines was nationwide and the Health Minister had assured mothers and Ghanaians that the situation would be addressed soon to ensure the nation’s children were vaccinated accordingly.
Ghana has been experiencing shortages of some childhood vaccines, a situation that has attracted attention from different quarters and interest groups, including the Parliament and the Pediatric Society of Ghana.
According to Dr Kyeremeh, the Health Ministry was working with UNICEF to fast-track the processes to obtain some of the vaccines as early as possible.
He stated that the Management of the Municipal Health Directorate was managing the situation tactfully to calm down parents, whose children were due for immunisation by taking their names and contacts so that they could be called when the vaccines were available to administer to their children.
Dr Kyeremeh said despite the situation and other challenges, post-natal services were still in progress at the health facilities for screening and monitoring of children because their weights were being checked whilst other vaccines available such as vitamin ‘A’ were being given to them (children).
“If the child does not get the vaccine on a scheduled date it does not mean it cannot be taken again at another time to serve the same purpose,” he said and entreated parents not to worry so much about the situation.
GNA