BY: Lambert Atsivor | Voltaonlinegh.com |
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) is set to commence a special Polio Vaccination exercise in the Oti region from Wednesday, 8th to Saturday, 11th January 2020.
The exercise, which is in partnership with the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF would cover over 140,000 children under the age five across all eight districts of the new region.
Speaking at a media briefing in Ho on Monday, Dr. Yaw Ofori Yeboah, Deputy Regional Director of Health for Volta/Oti, said the vaccination campaign was triggered by recent suspected cases recorded in parts of the country, including the Nkwanta North district in November, 2019.
He indicated that, a team of experts upon a thorough assessment of the case recommended the special polio vaccination exercise in order to avoid a possible polio outbreak in the area.
As result, an initial vaccination exercise was carried out in the Nkwanta North and South districts between December 18 and 21, 2019, Dr. Yeboah stated, and added that the campaign was being extended to cover the entire region so as to ensure there was no relapse in the country’s polio eradication gains.
Mr. Anthony Pani, the Regional Coordinator for Expanded Programme for Immunization (EPI), said personnel for the campaign have been trained and adequate vaccines and logistics have also been made available to ensure a successful exercise.
He added that, a Regional Emergency Operational Centre would also be set up at Jasikan to monitor and coordinator the exercise to achieve the desired result.
Regional Health Promotion Officer, Patricia Mawufemor Baku said social mobilisation activities including public education have been intensified in the various communities to ensure parents avail their wards for the exercise.
Source: www.voltaonlinegh.com