Vaccine shortage: 120 cases of measles recorded in Northern Region

The Paediatric Society of Ghana has disclosed that 120 cases of measles were recorded in the Northern region by end of December 2022 due to the shortage of essential vaccines.

Speaking on the Big Issue on Saturday, a member of the Paediatric Society of Ghana, Dr Agyeiwaa Boundie, urged the government to ensure that the country never runs out of vaccines for children.

“120 cases of measles were recorded in the Northern Region. So that tells you the situation is severe. Many of the children were either not vaccinated or didn’t know their vaccination status.

“This has happened and this should never happen again. Our children are vulnerable… When it came to haircuts, our pensioners could talk for themselves, but our children cannot talk for themselves and this should never happen in our nation again.”

Parliament on Thursday summoned the Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu to appear before the House to answer questions about the country’s current vaccine shortages.

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has attributed the shortage of vaccines used for routine immunisation of babies to the depreciation of the Ghana Cedi.

The shortage of vaccines has the potential to increase the vulnerability of children to the diseases the vaccines seek to protect them against.

Under the routine vaccination programme, Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) disease; oral polio vaccine 0 (OPV); Measles-Rubella; Meningitis and Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) are administered.

Vaccines against polio, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenza type B (DPT/Hep B/ Hib 1) and six infectious diseases that are particularly dangerous to babies are also among those administered.