National Measles Rubella Campaign Begins
The national campaign for the immunization of children aged nine months to under-five years begins today with close to five million children expected to receive a dose of measles and rubella vaccine irrespective of past immunizations.
The campaign, which is expected to run for the next five days in communities and health facilities across the country, aims to maintain the gains in reduced measles morbidity and mortality achieved over the years, as well as reduce the proportion of susceptible children in the country.
Although Ghana has seen a reduction in confirmed measles and rubella cases with no documented death from measles since 2003, about 100,000 children miss out in the routine vaccination every year.
These children remained vulnerable and might succumb to the disease, leading to outbreaks that might erode the gains made in the reduction of the disease, hence the nationwide campaign.
Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, officially launching the campaign, underscored the importance of a nationwide outreach on immunization.
He stressed that although the stage has been set for the elimination of measles in Ghana, it would only be possible if population immunity is kept at more than 95 percent over long periods through routine immunization.
WHO Country Representative in Ghana, Dr Owen Kaluwa, representing partners in the campaign, explained that routine measles vaccination for children, combined with mass immunization campaigns in countries with low routine coverage, is a key public health strategy to reduce global measles deaths.
He, therefore, commended the government of Ghana for the carefully-planned interventions, through its expanded programme on immunization (EPI) that placed the country as one of the five countries in Africa that has achieved the regional target of 95 per cent coverage rate for the first dose measles-rubella vaccination.
Dr. Kaluwa said the introduction of the second dose vaccination in the second year of life has further improved population immunity against the disease.
He indicated that the 2018 measles-rubella vaccination campaign demonstrates Ghana’s commitment to eliminating measles by the year 2020, in line with the Global Vaccine Action Plan.
Dr. Kaluwa stressed the need for the campaign to reach all children living in hard-to-access areas of the country and urged the media to ensure the success of the campaign by helping to leave no child behind in the spirit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Universal Health Coverage, (UHC).
Presenting an overview of the measles and rubella diseases in Ghana, Dr. George Bonsu, Programme Manager, EPI, pointed out that measles account for 9.3 per cent of paediatric admissions in the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KBTH).
Rubella, he explained, is the leading cause of birth defects, with women infected during their first trimester of pregnancy having up to a 90 per cent chance of delivering infants with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) – with its concomitant birth defects, including heart disorders, blindness, deafness, small head or brain damage.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri