Minister Calls For The Improvement Of EPI Strategies

Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu has urged countries undertaking the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) to develop more ground-breaking ways in tackling the prevention, control, elimination and eradication of vaccine preventable diseases within the sub-region.

He indicated that vaccine preventable diseases are not just health issues but developmental, adding that its eradication would only be achieved through an effective surveillance systems and a robust EPI of countries.

The minister stated this in a speech read on his behalf at the opening of the annual EPI Managers Meeting for West African countries held in Accra.

The three-day meeting is to enable participating countries to review the status of the implementation of recommendation of the 2016 EPI Managers Meeting and recommendations of various regional immunisation advisory groups and to learn from challenges of the programmes.

Mr Agyeman-Manu said, “The EPI in the West Africa region has made tremendous progress in protecting children from common childhood communicable diseases, namely tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, neonatal tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B, haemophilus influenza, yellow fever, among others.”

He, however, disclosed that even though the region is almost at the end of the struggle to eradicate polio, much effort is needed to ensure a hundred percent eradication, including all other vaccine preventable diseases.

The minister mentioned that the government of Ghana is committed to the eradication efforts and assured its continuous funding of the programme in the country, and encouraged countries to consider domestic resources mobilisation to facilitate the sustainability of interventions to eradicate vaccine preventable diseases.

He indicated that over the years, Ghana had taken some effective strategies to effectively control polio and other vaccine preventable diseases through interventions such as routine immunisation, child health promotion week and integrated maternal health campaigns, outreach services, mob-up campaigns and others.

Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Director of Ghana Health Service (GHS), stated that Ghana's commitment towards the EPI programme has enabled the country to eliminate most of the childhood diseases among children.

He said the GHS is determined to work with all partners to ensure that Ghana attains 100 percent coverage of immunisation, adding that more vigorous activities would be rolled out in the coming months to reach out to all children everywhere in the country to immunise them against childhood killer diseases.