By Ernest Addo
The Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, has promised some essential childhood vaccines would be made available in the next few weeks, to curb the outbreak of Measles in the country.
Kwaku Agyemang-Manu assured that “We have made all necessary efforts to ensure that despite these challenges we secure adequate stocks within the next few weeks. Working with UNICEF, we are fast-tracking the processes and it is expected that the vaccines would be supplied in the next few weeks All things being equal.”
He added that the Ministry of Health would ensure the country stayed on track with its immunization record and quickly overcome this bottleneck.
Addressing the press conference yesterday at the Ministry of Information Conference Room, Mr Agyemang Manu rebuffed claims that some babies had died from the recent measles outbreak due to the unavailability of childhood vaccines.
Mr. Kwaku Agyeman Manu admitted that “it is true we have had some vaccine shortages in the country since the last quarter of 2022. The vaccines in short supply are BCG, Measles-Rubella (MR), and Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). This shortage is nationwide.”
Regrettable as it is, the Minister attributed the recent shortage in Vaccines for measles is symptomatic of the steady global decline in measles vaccination since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic.
He said “It is important to correct the erroneous impression that there have been deaths from Measles in Ghana recently. For the avoidance of doubt, there have been no deaths from the recently recorded spike in Measles cases. Indeed, there have no deaths since 2003 though we have recorded cases annually,” adding that despite the challenge, Ghana’s immunization performance coverage remains among the best in the world, with a recorded 95% coverage 2021.
The Ministry of Health, the Minister intimated, has been seriously concerned about the shortage of some childhood vaccines and their effect on the Vaccination Programme in the country and that it is a major source of worry for the ministry, partners, caregivers, and population.
“We are aware of the implications of the shortages including disease outbreaks, and effects on child survival,” but that the “Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) has been a flagship disease control program in the country and arguably one of the best programmes if not the best in the sub-region with high coverage levels of over 95%. We have an established system for forecasting, procurement, supply and distribution of routine vaccines, and monitoring their use.”
