The founder and CEO of Sunyani-based Global Media Foundation (GloMeF), an anti-corruption Non-Governmental Organisation, has expressed worry about low coverage of Hepatitis B Birth Dose (BepB-BD) or vaccination among babies, nationwide.
Raphael Godlove Ahenu said statistics from the World Health Organisation showed that despite the global availability of an effective vaccine, only about 16 per cent of babies in Ghana were vaccinated within 24 hours of birth.
That is attributed to several factors including inadequate awareness creation, limited availability and accessibility of the vaccine, and lack of integration of HepB-BD into routine immunization services.
Mr Ahenu raised the concerns when the NGO launched a new advocacy campaign to increase awareness creation and improve the vaccination coverage of HepB-BD in the country.
He therefore called for the inclusion of the HepB-BD in the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) to ensure that all newborns were vaccinated within 24 hours of birth.
Dubbed “hepatitis-free Ghana”, Mr Ahenu explained the main goal of the campaign was not only to increase the coverage, but also facilitate timely administration of the HepB-BD vaccine in the country.
That could also be achieved through policy reforms, enhancing healthcare provider capacity, and raising public awareness thereby reducing mother-to-child transmission of Hepatitis ‘B’ and contributing to the elimination of the viral disease by 2030.
“The absence of a national policy mandating the administration of HepB-BD further exacerbates the situation, leaving many babies at risk of perinatal transmission”, he stated.
Mr Ahenu indicated that advocacy on HepB-BD vaccination was, therefore, critical to address the high rates of the virus infection in the country, saying integrating the inclusion of HepB-BD in the EPI remained essential in ensuring that all newborns were vaccinated within 24 hours of birth.
That would further require a concerted approach and collective engagement of key stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, healthcare providers, traditional and religious leaders, and civil society organisations in raising awareness, allocation of resources, and prioritisation of the vaccine’s integration into routine immunization schedules.
Mr Clement Boateng, the Country Director, of GLoMeF, said Hepatitis “B” posed a significant threat to public health, saying the viral disease contributed to chronic cancers and related diseases as well as premature death.
He said the virus infection acquired in infancy or early childhood was likely to become chronic, with up to about 90 per cent of infected babies developing lifelong infection.
Preventing Hepatitis “B” infections and transmissions at birth remains crucial for reducing the overall burden of the disease in the country.
Mr Boateng explained that the advocacy campaign would increase public awareness and demand the HepB-BD vaccination, by reaching at least one million people nationwide, including expectant mothers and caregivers, with information about the disease prevention and other benefits of the birth dose.
That would be achieved through organizing community-based forums, screening exercises, mass media outreaches, church-to-church activities, school education and partnerships with local organizations.
The Ghana Partnership Against Hepatitis (GPAH), a consortium of local organizations across the 16 regions of the country is implementing the advocacy campaign, Mr Boateng added.
GNA