LACK OF access to healthfacilitieshas resulted in over two hundred and twenty thousand (220, 000) children below the ages of five years neglected and not reached for immunization in 2014.
The propensity that, the situation may worsen in 2015 and see more children being denied vaccination is the worry of the Ghana Coalition in Health (GCNH), a Non-Governmental Organization.
Responding to questions at a press conference held in Accra by the coalition, under the theme, ‘Civil Society Call to Action, The Urgent Need For Investing in Immunization to Save Live,’ Dr. Joan Awunyo-Akaba, a civil society representative on the board of Global Alliance Vaccine Immunization (GAVI), said the situation will deteriorate further, should immediate action not taken.
Dr. Awunyor-Akaba said the 2014 report of the Expanded Programme of Immunization shows that children who are found in the hard-to-reach communities are the most hit “because they are only immunized when it is immunization period, and then after, its stopped because they have no access to health facilities.”
The representative of GAVI, said, with the support from her outfit, and that of the Ghana Health Service, the project has brought coverage to about 100 of Ghana’s hardest to reach communities, and that in the early 2014, the project has seen the successful immunization of over 2,000 children under the age of five and 8,000 community members through education on immunization.
Gabriel Bernakuu, the chairman of the GCNH, said government is responsible for the health and well-being of its children, and, “We therefore implore government to make adequate investment in the national budget to translate commitments on child health into action.”
He added that, as Ghana gears up to graduate from GAVI due to the lower middle income status, it is imperative that government develops a sustainability plan for immunization to guarantee the children of Ghana their fundamental human right to life.
“We asked for increased donor investments in immunization programmes through GAVI, the vaccine alliance, to increase access to new and underused vaccines in poor and middle income countries including Ghana.”
The coalition, he said is also calling on donors to meet the ambition to end all preventable child deaths by fully-funding GAVI with $7.7 billion to implement its next strategic period.
“GAVI’s 2016-2020 strategy is focused on equity and coverage, health system strengthening and market shaping,” he noted.
The coalition, however expressed gratitude to the German government and Chancellor Angela Merkel for her leadership role to raise money to fund its 2016-2020 strategy.
“We also laud all donor countries that have so far pledged funds to support GAVI, and thank them for their contribution in ensuring that children in poor countries around the world benefit from immunization to avert deaths from vaccine-preventable disease.”
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