This follows the shortage of the vaccines in the country over government’s indebtedness to UNICEF, the international body that distributes the vaccine across the globe.

The vaccines are usually administered to newborn babies to fight the deadly childhood diseases.

[contextly_sidebar id=”XPSl4aIvA55TQzoDk4kxXAL0iJ84TJ1Q”]Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare, said Ghana will soon receive the supplies because of the payment.

“The fact is that, we get the polio vaccines procured for us through UNICEF. There was an outstanding bill from last year which was not paid. God being so good, just this week we have managed to clear that bill and as we speak now they will be airlifting the polio vaccines to the country.”

“The one that we are transferring is about 10 million dollars which we are going to use to get all the consignment we need for the next year or so, and we will then schedule and clear all the outstanding bills,” he added.

When asked whether the shortages could adversely affected babies and infants who needed it the most, Dr. Asare said they have put in place contingency measures in mitigating such occurrence.

“What we are doing to mitigate it is that; we call other districts and regions where they have stock, then we forward to places where the stock had gone low. So a day or two difference will not make much difference so we will sort it out I’m sure by the close of the week,” he assured.

Annual vaccine supply

The Director-General explained that, Ghana usually receives vaccine supply to last for about a year.

“We have yearly consumption; but the problem was that, we pay for the previous year’s outstanding bills and then also this year’s bills. It comes to the Central cold home at Korle Bu and we also send it to the regional centres and they also send it to the various districts. When I checked up the money has been released. Immediately the money has been transferred which we got a copy of the transfer yesterday [Tuesday], they will release the vaccines,” he added.

About Polio

Polio (poliomyelitis) is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus and mainly affects children under 5 years of age. It invades the nervous system, and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours.

The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (for example, contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 1 in 200 infections lead to irreversible paralysis. It adds that among those paralyzed, 5% to 10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized.

WHO adds that failure to eradicate polio from these last remaining strongholds could result in as many as 200,000 new cases every year, within 10 years, all over the world.

In Ghana since the outbreak of polio in 2008, no such cases have been recorded in the country as of 2015.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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This is because Ghana owed the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the international body that procures the vaccine, a huge sum of money.

The vaccines are usually administered to newborn babies to fight the deadly childhood diseases.

Confirming the shortage on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, the Director-General at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare said Ghana will soon receive such supplies because they have paid close to $10 million to UNICEF for the procurement of the vaccines.

[contextly_sidebar id=”1k5oNv2XFwCoHRh6nu7MhzhYudB1GnUn”]“The fact is that we get the polio vaccines procured for us through UNICEF. There was an outstanding bill from last year which was not paid. God being so good, just this week we have managed to clear that bill and as we speak now they will be airlifting the polio vaccine to the country.”

“The one that we are transferring is about 10 million dollars which we are going to use to get all the consignment we need for the next year or so and we will then schedule and clear all the outstanding bills,” he added.

When asked whether the shortages could adversely affect babies and infants who needed them the most, Dr. Asare said they have put in place measures to mitigate such issue.

“What we are doing to mitigate it is that we call other districts and regions where they have stock then we forward to places where the stock had gone low. So a day or two difference will not make much difference so we will sort it out I’m sure by the close of the week,” he assured.

Annual vaccine supply

The Director-General explained that Ghana usually receives vaccine supply that could last for about a year from UNICEF but would have to clear outstanding debts before receiving new consignment.

“We have yearly consumption but the problem was that we pay for the previous year’s outstanding bills and then also this year’s bills. It comes to the Central cold home at Korle Bu and we also send it to the regional centres and they are also send it to the various districts. When I checked up the money has been released. Immediately the money has been transferred which we got a copy of the transfer yesterday, they will release the vaccines,” he added.

About Polio

Polio (poliomyelitis) is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus and mainly affects children under 5 years of age. It invades the nervous system, and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours.

The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (for example, contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 1 in 200 infections lead to irreversible paralysis. It adds that among those paralysed, 5% to 10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized.

WHO adds that failure to eradicate polio from these last remaining strongholds could result in as many as 200,000 new cases every year, within 10 years, all over the world.

In Ghana since the outbreak of polio in 2008, no such cases have been recorded in the country as of 2015.

–

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Polio, Measles vaccine shortage hit Ghana appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

It described the deaths – which can be prevented with vaccination – as an “unacceptable tragedy”.

A six-year-old boy in Italy was the latest to die from the infection. More than 3,300 measles cases have been recorded in the country.

The most fatalities – 31 – have been in Romania.
But there have also been deaths in Germany and Portugal since June 2016.

Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, the WHO regional director for Europe, said: “Every death or disability caused by this vaccine-preventable disease is an unacceptable tragedy.

“We are very concerned that although a safe, effective and affordable vaccine is available, measles remains a leading cause of death among children worldwide, and unfortunately Europe is not spared.

“I urge all endemic countries to take urgent measures to stop transmission of measles within their borders, and all countries that have already achieved this to keep up their guard and sustain high immunisation coverage.”
Measles is highly contagious, but vaccinating 95% of the population should prevent it spreading.

Germany is looking at tightening the law on immunisations.

And the government in Italy is pushing for children to be vaccinated against 12 common illnesses before they can enrol for state-run schools.

Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni blamed a decrease in vaccinations in part on a “spread of anti-scientific theories”.

A lingering false belief that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jab causes autism is largely to blame, despite the claims being disproven and the doctor who made them being struck off.

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Source: BBC

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According to the report, despite a 79 per cent worldwide decrease in measles deaths between 2000 and 2015, nearly 400 children still die from the disease every day.

“Making measles history is not mission impossible,” said Robin Nandy, UNICEF Immunisation Chief.

“We have the tools and the knowledge to do it; what we lack is the political will to reach every single child, no matter how far. Without this commitment, children will continue to die from a disease that is easy and cheap to prevent,” he said.

Mass measles vaccination campaigns and a global increase in routine measles vaccination coverage saved an estimated 20.3 million young lives from 2000 to 2015, according to UNICEF, the World Health Organisation (WHO), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The report noted that progress has been uneven.

It indicated that in 2015, about 20 million infants missed their measles shots and an estimated 134,000 children died from the disease.

According to the report, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan account for half of the unvaccinated infants and 75 per cent of the measles deaths.

“It is not acceptable that millions of children miss their vaccines every year. We have a safe and highly effective vaccine to stop the spread of measles and save lives,” said Dr Jean-Marie Okwo-Bele, Director of WHO’s Department of Immunisation, Vaccines and Biologicals.

“This year, the Region of the Americas was declared free of measles – proof that elimination is possible. Now, we must stop measles in the rest of the world. It starts with vaccination,” he added.

“Measles is a key indicator of the strength of a country’s immunisation systems and, all too often, it ends up being the canary in the coalmine with outbreaks acting as the first warning of deeper problems,” said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

“To address one of the world’s deadliest vaccine-preventable childhood killers we need strong commitments from countries and partners to boost routine immunization coverage and to strengthen surveillance systems,” he stated.

The report said measles, a highly contagious viral disease that spreads through direct contact and through the air, is one of the leading causes of death among young children globally. It can be prevented with two doses of a safe and effective vaccine.

It said measles outbreaks in numerous countries – caused by gaps in routine immunization and in mass vaccination campaigns – continue to be a serious challenge.

It said in 2015, large outbreaks were reported in Egypt, Ethiopia, Germany, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia.

It noted that the outbreaks in Germany and Mongolia affected older persons, highlighting the need to vaccinate adolescents and young adults who have no protection against measles.

The report said measles also tend to flare up in countries in conflict or humanitarian emergencies due to the challenges of vaccinating every child.

It recounted that last year, outbreaks were reported in Nigeria, Somalia and South Sudan.

It said measles elimination in four of six WHO regions were the global target at the midpoint of the Global Vaccine Action Plan implementation.

“The world has missed this target, but we can achieve measles elimination as we have seen in the Region of the Americas,” said Dr Rebecca Martin, Director of CDC’s Centre for Global Health.

“As the African adage goes, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ and it takes the same local and global villages to protect children against measles. We can eliminate measles from countries and everyone needs to play a role,” she stated.

“This year’s report shows.”

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Source: GNA

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