By Rachel Kakraba
The Programme Manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), Selorm Kutsoati, has assured the public that vaccines used in immunisation programmes across the country are safe.
She stated that all vaccines imported into Ghana undergo rigorous regulatory checks, emphasising that the nation’s regulator, the Food and Drugs Authority, will not approve substandard products that could harm the health and wellbeing of Ghanaians.
“Vaccines in Ghana are regulated by the FDA. The FDA will not approve anything that is going to harm us in the country,” she said.
Dr Kutsoati was speaking to GBCGhanaOnline on the significance of the annual commemoration of African Immunisation Week.
She expressed concern that despite decades of progress in protecting children from preventable diseases, vaccine hesitancy, fuelled by misinformation and mistrust, is becoming an increasing challenge to public health efforts. The trend, she noted, threatens the success of immunisation programmes nationwide and calls for concerted action to address it.
“People are going around speaking against these vaccines, and we have some people who are easily influenced. They do not even research for themselves. Someone tells you that this vaccine will do A, B, C, D, and you accept it. Then you do not take your children for vaccination, and the child may fall sick,” she said.
Dr Kutsoati stated that years of sustained immunisation efforts have drastically reduced, and in some cases eliminated, diseases such as polio, measles and pertussis. As a result, an entire generation has grown up without witnessing the devastating effects of these illnesses, leading to complacency towards vaccination.
“Unfortunately, vaccination is a victim of its own success because there is a generation of people who have never seen polio or measles, so they do not realise how serious these diseases are,” she explained.
She encouraged the media to intensify public education on immunisation to help people better understand the importance, benefits and safety of vaccines.
Dr Kutsoati also noted that as Ghana prepares to transition from support by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which currently funds a significant portion of its vaccines, it is imperative for the country to prepare for the financial and logistical responsibilities ahead.
“Ghana is in what we call the accelerated phase of Gavi transition, which means that by 2030 we should have weaned off Gavi completely and will be fully financing our vaccines. The question is whether we are ready to do this 100 per cent, especially given past challenges with vaccine financing and shortages,” she said.
She added that much of the country’s cold chain equipment, including vaccine fridges, freezers and carriers, is also procured by Gavi, and maintaining or replacing them could become costly in the future.
“In the next few years, by 2030, we must ask whether we are in a position to procure enough of this equipment ourselves,” she added.
African Immunisation Week is observed annually during the last week of April. It draws renewed attention to the critical role vaccines play in protecting lives and strengthening public health systems globally.
The World Health Organization estimates that vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives over the past five decades.
