Support The Six-Day Measles-Rubella Vaccination Exercise

NEWS COMMENTARY ON THE NEED TO SUPPORT THE SIX DAY VACCINATION EXERCISE AGAINST MEASLES AND RUBELLA

To maintain the gains made over the years to reduce measles infections, Ghana is heading towards eliminating the disease and Rubella also known as German measles in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal three target. This amongst other things is to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being of all at all ages. There will also be access to safe, effective, quality and affordable medicines and vaccines for all, by 2020 in the African Region. Ghana’s immunization programme has achieved a number of successes recording more than 98 percent of immunization coverage during routine and mop up campaigns. Ghana has seen a reduction in confirmed measles and Rubella cases with no documented death from measles since 2003. Polio has also been out of the system since 2008. In the late 1980’s measles was a killer disease in Ghana and ranked second to malaria in disease burden in 1977. But thanks to vaccination, the burden is now reduced and Ghana is on the move to eliminating it. There is an Akan adage that one should fetch water by his side when one sees the neighbour’s beard burning.  It is even better for one’s beard to be dipped in water to even prevent the heat. That is exactly what Ghana is doing for children from nine months to four years eleven months due to the threat of measles and rubella in Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone. With these countries recording high numbers of measles, it is only prudent for steps to be taken quickly to protect Ghanaian children and give them adequate immunity against infections with the six-day campaign.

The Ghana Health Service is targeting more than four million children in this bracket including those who have never received such vaccination. Records indicate that about one hundred thousand were not vaccinated at all or left out in routine measles and rubella immunisation every year. For those who have already received the measles and rubella vaccination, the extra dose will reduce the proportion susceptible rapidly and again eliminate indigenous transmission. Measles is said to be the leading cause of deaths in children under five, killing two hundred and forty six children in a day and ninety thousand people in a year according to WHO statistics. Do you know that measles is one of the contagious viruses on earth and that one infected person can transmit the disease to eighteen people through respiratory droplet infection? Scary, isn’t it? That is why our children need to be protected. Ghana had nineteen confirmed measles cases in 2017 and between January and August this year has recorded twenty nine cases. This stands to reason therefore that since measles and Rubella kill, children who are in the target group must be vaccinated so that they can enjoy good life.

Measles causes rash and fever with complications like ear infections, diarrhea, pneumonia, encephalitis which can cause permanent brain damage. This definitely is a major cause for concern as they can drain the family coffers.  The good news is that, safe and effective vaccines abound for prevention. It may interest one to know that the measles vaccine has been on the block for the past 50 years.  Rubella is also the leading cause of birth defects if a woman contracts the virus during pregnancy. Though Measles and Rubella have some commonalities, Rubella has other equally disturbing occurrences such as babies delivered with small heads, heart defects, liver and spleens damage among others.  It is important for all to embrace the ongoing measles and Rubella vaccination to adequately protect children from needless complications and vaccine preventable illnesses and deaths. High political commitment is also needed to ensure that quality vaccines reach every child. Indeed volunteers and health workers involved in the exercise deserve commendation for exhibiting selflessness to reach children with the vaccination at vantage points, mobile vans and camp out especially in hard to reach areas during the six day vaccination. Vaccination is one of the most important things we can do for our child’s health, so get involved now. The nation’s future is a healthy child.

AUTHOR: THERESA OWUSU ARKO, A JOURNALIST.