The West Gonja municipal health directorate will start it’s mass polio vaccination from Thursday, September 1, 2022, across the West Gonja municipality.
Caregivers have been encouraged to ensure their children under five (5) years old are available for the vaccination between 1st to 4th September and 6th to 9th October 2022.
The West Gonja municipal director of health services, Gertrude Yentumi, addressing stakeholders at the launch said it is important and necessary to talk about polio and implement ways and means to curb it.
She disclosed that one (1) case of polio has been recorded so far in North Gonja district of the Savannah region this year, which calls for the need to protect the children against the virus.
Gertrude Yentumi revealed this during stakeholders engagement to launch municipal immunization days at the West Gonja municipal health directorate’s conference room on the 29th, August, 2022.
Africa recently achieving the status of certified free of wild polio virus. The area will do whatever it is to protect the young children for a better future. Wild polio is one of the three strains of the deadly virus, and the declaration of being certified wild polio free is a laudable achievement. She expressed gratitude to health workers, government, parents and community leaders who have worked together to tackle this disease.
Unfortunately, the fight against polio is far from over. Another strain of the virus continues to spread across Ghana, and has paralyzed 31 children in Ghana already, on August 2020.
She explained that outbreaks of polio are more likely to occur in communities where there are unimmunized children and coupled with poor sanitary and hygiene environments.
Gertrude Yentumi added that the current polio vaccine is a novel oral one which has never been used in Ghana and is very effective, hence the need for parents, caregivers to immunized their children to help guide them against the virus. She called on all stakeholders, market women, religious groups, media persons to carry out the information to the general public to ensure easy roll out of the vaccine.
Gertrude Yentumi said the vaccine doesn’t course any effect children take more than two doses, adding that a child can take a dose today and the next day since it boost the immune system of the child.
The Hon Municipal Chief Executive for West Gonja, Musah Kusubari who dully lunched the campaign encouraged health professionals to carry out the exercise professionally, stating that government and other agencies have done their part, the need for health professionals and parents, caregivers to ensure that children below 5years take the vaccine in other to safeguard the future of our children.
Musah Kusubari appealed to health workers to once again stand up in their line of duty as they have been doing during outbreak of several diseases and viruses.
He encouraged parents and institutions to help carry the message across for easy immunization of the vaccine.
The health services has engaged several teams of health workers and volunteers to help immunize children against polio across West Gonja municipality and savannah region at large.
The first round of the vaccination runs from between 1st and 4th September, 2022, and another round scheduled for 6th to 9th October, 2022.
Caregivers are encouraged to ensure their children under five (5) years old are available for polio vaccination between 1st – 4th September and 6th – 9th October 2022, anywhere the vaccination teams may be, so that Ghana can see an end to all types of polio once and for all.
Polio is a viral disease that is transmitted mainly from person to person, mainly through a faecal-oral route. While there is no cure for polio, the disease can be prevented through the administration of a vaccine. If a population is fully immunized, they will be protected against all forms of polio viruses.
