A survey report conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) shows that the percentage of children 24 to 35 months not fully vaccinated based on the national schedule declined by 15.1 percentage points between 2014 and 2022.? The survey showed that almost three in every five, which was 57.6 per cent in that age range, had not been fully vaccinated according to the national schedule in 2022, compared to about two in every five representing 42.5 per cent in 2014.? The figures are based on Ghana Demographic and Health Survey data on children for whom vaccination information was recorded on their vaccination cards.? World Immunisation Day is commemorated annually in the last week of April to promote the use of vaccines to save lives. According to the data, more than half of children aged 24 to 35 months were not vaccinated according to the national schedule in ten out of the 16 regions. ?The Northern Region recorded the highest percentage where four out of every five, representing 81.5 percent, had not b een fully vaccinated. The Western region with 68.5 per cent and the Savannah region with 66.9 percent. The region with the lowest percentage of children who had not received all age-appropriate vaccines was Volta Region, representing 26.7 per cent followed distantly by Greater Accra with 40.4 per cent.? The percentage of children aged 24 to 35 months?not fully vaccinated according to the national schedule is marginally lower in urban areas with 56.3 per cent relative to rural of 58.9 per cent. The survey revealed that a higher percentage of girls, representing 59.6 per cent had not been fully vaccinated in comparison to boys, with 55.6 per cent.? It further said vaccination coverage varied markedly by maternal education, ranging from seven in every 10, representing 71.6 per cent for children whose mothers had no education, to four in every 10, representing 43.9 per cent for children whose mothers had higher than secondary education. ?? Among children aged 12 to 23 months, the survey said more than two i n every five children, representing 44.5 per cent, were not fully vaccinated according to the national schedule in 2022, representing an increase of 6.7 percentage points from 2014 with 37.8 per cent.? Ms Sarah Woode, Principal Statistician, GSS, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said that though the survey did not ask the reason for the decline, it was assumed that it was due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic since the research was conducted in 2020. Ms Woode said the figures would provide authorities with timely information for policy intervention regarding vaccination and other health-related issues. That, she stated, was critical because vaccination helped to prevent diseases like polio, yellow fever, among others. The data, she stressed, would enable the government to intensify education on the importance of vaccination, especially for mothers who were reluctant to attend postnatal and antenatal care. Source: Ghana News Agency
Immunization Day: Unvaccinated children on the rise
A survey report conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) shows that the percentage of children 24 to 35 months not fully vaccinated based on the national schedule declined by 15.1 percentage points between 2014 and 2022.? The survey showed that almost three in every five, which was 57.6 per cent in that age range, had not been fully vaccinated according to the national schedule in 2022, compared to about two in every five representing 42.5 per cent in 2014.? The figures are based on Ghana Demographic and Health Survey data on children for whom vaccination information was recorded on their vaccination cards.? World Immunisation Day is commemorated annually in the last week of April to promote the use of vaccines to save lives. According to the data, more than half of children aged 24 to 35 months were not vaccinated according to the national schedule in ten out of the 16 regions. ?The Northern Region recorded the highest percentage where four out of every five, representing 81.5 percent, had not b een fully vaccinated. The Western region with 68.5 per cent and the Savannah region with 66.9 percent. The region with the lowest percentage of children who had not received all age-appropriate vaccines was Volta Region, representing 26.7 per cent followed distantly by Greater Accra with 40.4 per cent.? The percentage of children aged 24 to 35 months?not fully vaccinated according to the national schedule is marginally lower in urban areas with 56.3 per cent relative to rural of 58.9 per cent. The survey revealed that a higher percentage of girls, representing 59.6 per cent had not been fully vaccinated in comparison to boys, with 55.6 per cent.? It further said vaccination coverage varied markedly by maternal education, ranging from seven in every 10, representing 71.6 per cent for children whose mothers had no education, to four in every 10, representing 43.9 per cent for children whose mothers had higher than secondary education. ?? Among children aged 12 to 23 months, the survey said more than two i n every five children, representing 44.5 per cent, were not fully vaccinated according to the national schedule in 2022, representing an increase of 6.7 percentage points from 2014 with 37.8 per cent.? Ms Sarah Woode, Principal Statistician, GSS, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said that though the survey did not ask the reason for the decline, it was assumed that it was due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic since the research was conducted in 2020. Ms Woode said the figures would provide authorities with timely information for policy intervention regarding vaccination and other health-related issues. That, she stated, was critical because vaccination helped to prevent diseases like polio, yellow fever, among others. The data, she stressed, would enable the government to intensify education on the importance of vaccination, especially for mothers who were reluctant to attend postnatal and antenatal care. Source: Ghana News Agency
African vaccination, child health promotion week launched in Accra
The African Vaccination and Child Health Promotion week, 2024, was on Tuesday launched in Accra with an appeal to parents to ensure that children up to two years old received the right dosses of vaccines required to protect them against Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD).
Mr. Naziru Tanko Mohammed, the Deputy Program Manager of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), Ghana Health Service (GHS), said presently, there were inequalities in vaccination coverage with high numbers of left-out children in peri-urban and urban districts.
He said in urban districts like Ga Central, Ablekuma, Oforikrom, Kwabrim, Prampram among others, parents hardly completed the vaccination schedules for their children.
‘If you received only one dose of a vaccine which is to be administered in four doses, your child will still be at risk,’ he said, encouraging such parents to ensure their children completed the process.
Mr. Mohammed said Ghana currently administered eleven vaccines against 14 VPDs in routine immunization and t
hat the EPI was considering establishing mobile vaccination centres in markets and public places to reach out to more children in urban centres.
The Chief of Staff, Mrs. Akosua Frema Osei Opare, who launched the childhood vaccination week, said from the moment of birth, vaccines played a critical role in safeguarding the survival of newborns and infants.
Through the routine immunization schedule, Ghana provides protection against diseases such as Tuberculosis, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Measles, Polio, Meningitis, Yellow Fever, Tetanus, among others.
Mrs. Opare said vaccination ensured that the youngest and most vulnerable population was shielded from dangerous diseases.
‘Early vaccinations lay the foundation for a lifetime of health and well-being, setting the stage for future growth and development of a child,’ she said.
She called on the public to support the national vaccination efforts saying, ‘vaccination is not just an individual responsibility…it is a collective endeavor that benefits society. By ach
ieving high vaccination coverage across all age groups, we create a herd immunity.’
The Chief of Staff said the concept of herd immunity underscored the importance of investing in immunization to save lives and prevent outbreaks and that every family, group, and organisation had a stake in immunization and other child health interventions.
Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), reaffirmed the government’s commitment to prioritising the well-being of children in all aspects of its work and advocacy.
That, he said, would be done by investing in effective interventions, collaborating across sectors, and advocating policies that prioritised child health.
‘We can create a country where every child can grow up healthy, happy, and thriving,’ he said.
The African Vaccination Week is celebrated in April every year to strengthen immunization programmes in Africa.
It seeks to increase the awareness of the importance that every person’s (particularly every child and woman) has
the right to be protected from vaccine-preventable diseases.
It also aims at keeping immunization high on the national and regional agendas through advocacy and partnerships, with an over-arching slogan ‘Vaccinated communities, Healthy communities’.
This year’s campaign is under the theme ‘Healthy Childhood: Invest in Your Child for a Better Future’.
Source: Ghana News Agency
Mama Hodzige seeks support for Menstrual Hygiene Project
Mama Hodzige II, Divisional Queen mother of Klik or-Agblorgame, has appealed to individuals and corporate organisations interested in the development of the girl-child to support her ‘Menstrual Hygiene Project’ with menstrual pads.
Engaging with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview at Klikor in the Ketu South Municipality of the Volta Region, Mama Hodzige, said she conceived the idea after realising that many girls absented themselves from school duing menstrual periods.
‘Some of the girls in my community are not regular in school and my interactions with them shows their parents can not afford to get them sanitary pads when they are in their menstrual flow.’
‘I decided to do this small project to support them with sanitary pads’, she added.
She said, ‘menstruation is not a choice’, so everyone should ‘get committed to support the girl-child’ to stay in school and learn.
Mama Hodzige II, also the Ketu South Municipal Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), asked those inter
ested in the Project to call +233 24 355 3461 for their support.
Source: Ghana News Agency
Project Hope working to expand reach to vulnerable children
Project Hope Namibia has come up with a new project to help young people living with HIV in Namibia. Project Hope Namibia spokesperson Fillipus Absalom informed Nampa in an interview on Tuesday about the Reach Namibia project that started in February this year, that aims to avert new infections for young people and improve treatment outcomes for HIV positive young people. This is by increasing access to comprehensive HIV prevention and impact mitigation services. He said they want to help young people at risk of HIV and violence by increasing their access to Family Planning services. 'We want to increase access to biomedical HIV prevention services including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), condoms, HIV testing services and referral for voluntary male medical circumcision for orphans and vulnerable children, boys and sexual partners,' said Absalom. He added that the project also helps one to have the opportunity to gain new knowledge on HIV, build resilience and understand violence prevention and the bene fits of HIV treatment adherence. One of the project's Oshikoto representatives, Melody van der Merwe said she assists vulnerable children between the ages of 10 and 24 years who are in school as well as school dropouts. 'We provide them with stationery, school uniform, soap and pads and solar lights through the Reach programme,' she said. Van der Merwe is currently focusing on schools in the Oshivelo circuit in the region and they have assisted six schools so far. Source: The Namibia Press Agency