Ghana becomes Africa’s first nation to roll out two children’s vaccines at same time

Ghana today April 26, 2012 became the first African country to introduce pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines at the same time, simultaneously tackling the leading causes of the world’s two biggest childhood killers – pneumonia and diarrhoea.

Ghana’s first Lady Mrs Ernestina Naadu Mills, who outdoored the vaccines gave one of the first rotavirus vaccine doses at the Independence Square in Accra where hundreds of participants gathered to celebrate the historic milestone in public health.

The doses of the vaccines were administered to children.

Mrs Mills was joined by Minister of Health, Mr Alban S. K. Bagbin, GAVI Alliance CEO, Dr Seth Berkley, WHO Deputy Director General, Dr Anarfi Asamoa-Baah, UNICEF Country Representative, Dr Iyabode Olusanmi and other international guests.

Launching the vaccines, Mrs Mills said “Today is a great day for Ghanaians as we have the opportunity to improve the lot of our children, who are our greatest resource. The future of our country lies in our children,” according to a statement issued by the GAVI Alliance, a partner of the project.

According GAVI, pneumonia and severe infant diarrhoea together take the lives of more than 2.7 million children under the age of five each year globally and in Ghana, “these killer diseases together account for approximately 20% of the country’s under-five child mortality”.

“Our children have been dying from these vaccine-preventable diseases for too long, but this moment begins a major fight back,” Health Minister Alban Bagbin was quoted as saying.

With these vaccines, we want to, and we will, achieve MDG4, the two-thirds reduction of our child mortality by 2015, he added.

By Ekow Quandzie