Vaccine shortage: 120 cases of measles recorded in Northern Region

The Paediatric Society of Ghana has disclosed that 120 cases of measles were recorded in the Northern region by end of December 2022 due to the shortage of essential vaccines.

Speaking on Citi TV on Saturday, a member of the Paediatric Society of Ghana, Dr Agyeiwaa Boundie, urged the government to ensure that the country never runs out of vaccines for children.

“120 cases of measles were recorded in the Northern Region. So that tells you the situation is severe. Many of the children were either not vaccinated or didn’t know their vaccination status.

“This has happened and this should never happen again. Our children are vulnerable… When it came to haircuts, our pensioners could talk for themselves, but our children cannot talk for themselves and this should never happen in our nation again.”

Meanwhile the Paediatric Society of Ghana has warned that, the country will have an outbreak of childhood diseases if immediate steps are not taken to procure vaccines for immunizing children in the country.

According to the Paediatric Society of Ghana in a statement, the reports are just the tip of the iceberg since more facilities are recording an outbreak of measles.

“The Paediatric Society of Ghana notes with grave concern reports of shortages of vaccines across Ghana. Ghana Health Service has reported outbreak of Measles, a vaccine preventable disease in the northern region involving 50 children. This is the tip of the iceberg as our investigations that more than 90 cases have been recorded in one major facility alone.

“The shortage extends beyond Measles vaccine to other childhood diseases including Rotavirus, Tuberculosis, and Pneumococcal vaccines. This is a nationwide problem as Northern, Bono East and other regions including Greater Accra are increasingly reporting shortages of vaccines alongside resurgence of vaccine preventable diseases” part of the statement reads.