There are confirmed cases of Poliomyelitis or Acute Facility Paralyses, (AFP) in Ghana in two environmental surveillance sites, Chereponi in the North East Region and Greater Accra Region.
In view of this, several response actions have been planned for implementation for a catch-up vaccination for Inactivated Polio Vaccine IPV vaccination.
In preparation for the implementation, the Upper East Regional Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service, (GHS), has organized a day’s training workshop at In-service Training Center in Bolgatanga.
The workshop which was organized in collaboration with the Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana Red Cross Society, Social Welfare, and the Regional House of Chiefs, brought together the District health promotions officers, District Directors, Disease control officers from the fifteen Municipal and District Assemblies in the Upper East Region to prepare for the exercise.
Speaking to Radio Ghana, the Upper East Regional Disease Control Officer Eugene Osei Yeboah stated that, in 2016, Ghana switched from the three types Vaccine to Two types and could not introduce the Inactivated Polio Vaccine which was to cater for the type two due to an outbreak in Nigeria at the time where the IPV in the world were directed to.
Mr. Yeboah explained that, the reported cases are the type and the IPV to be use is in the form of injection rather than the oral administration, adding that, the target is children born between 2016, up to January and February 2018, within the ages of one and half to four years.
The Regional Health Promotion Officer Rexford king James Adjei indicated that the exercises will commerce from December 4 to 8, 2019.
He said the exercise will be carried out in the schools and the various communities, Lorry parks, Churches, Mosques among others.
He said that the exercises are going to be at strategic centers and not moving from house to house as was done in the round two.
Mr. Adjei stressed that the injections will be handled solely by health professionals however, community volumteers will go into the houses and mobilize the children the center for the exercise.
Story filed by Emmanuel Akayeti
