By Philip Tengzu
Wa, (UW/R), Oct. 02, GNA – The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has launched malaria and measles-rubella vaccination campaigns in the Upper West Region.
The launch formed part of interventions by the service to reduce infections among children.
The malaria vaccination dubbed, “Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme (MVIP)” commenced on October 1, 2024; the measles-rubella campaign would begin on October 2, 2024, in the region.
Addressing the media and stakeholders in Wa to launch the campaign, Dr Damien Punguyire, the Upper West Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, encouraged parents to ensure their children received all four doses of the vaccine for better protection against malaria.
He said the first dose was for six-month-old children, seven months old for the second dose, nine months old for the third dose and 18 months old for the fourth dose.
“Immunization is a major contributor to improved child health. Vaccines alone currently prevent 2-3 million children from death annually,” the Health Director stated.
While encouraging parents to avail their children of the vaccination, he admonished the people to continue to observe the traditional malaria prevention interventions such as sleeping under treated bed nets.
The Health Director indicated that the MVIP had, since its commencement in 2019, reached about a million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi during the pilot phases.
He stated that each of the children reached received at least a dose of the vaccine through childhood immunization programmes with a total of 3,256,186 doses administered in Ghana.
Dr Damien said following the high acceptance of the vaccines during the pilot programme in Ghana, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had expanded the intervention from 42 and 93 districts in phases one and two respectively to 136 districts in phase three including all eleven districts in the Upper West Region.
Dr. Punguyire indicated that 38,871 children were expected to benefit from the malaria vaccination in the region annually.
Talking about the measles-rubella campaign, he indicated that measles was a public health concern, especially among children under five years.
He said the campaign, scheduled for 2nd to 6th October 2024 was targeting to reach 155,484 children in the region aged from nine to 59 months.
Dr . Damien indicated that in addition to the vaccination, the children would also receive Vitamin A supplement to boost their immunity, prevent eye diseases and promote their optimal growth and development.
Speaking at the launch, Alhaji Issaka Hassan, the Chairperson of the Upper West Regional Health Committee, said despite the interventions to reduce malaria infections, malaria cases still topped Out Patient Department (OPD) cases in the health facilities.
“The importance attached to malaria prevention cannot be overemphasised. This vaccine has come to add another layer of intervention towards malaria prevention,” he explained.
He, therefore, urged the media to lead the campaign to ensure the success of the vaccination campaign in the region.
GNA