The Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) Programme Manager, Dr. Kwame Amponsah-Achiano, said that starting in October of this year, all infants will receive a vaccination against the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) at birth.
He said the vaccine would be given within 24 hours and was intended to assist in reducing the spread of HBV from mother to kid.
This was stated by Dr. Amponsah-Achiano during a National Hepatitis B Birth Dosage Stakeholder Forum that was organized yesterday in Accra to give stakeholders a chance to offer insightful feedback on how the government is implementing the Hepatitis B birth dose program.
The Hepatitis Foundation of Ghana and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) jointly hosted the forum.
He clarified that the Ghana Health Service’s (GHS) commitment to eradicating Hepatitis B, enhancing public health, and accomplishing more general health objectives by 2030 included the Hepatitis B birth dose program.
Furthermore, Dr. Amponsah-Achiano claimed that the government was properly equipped to roll out the administration of the HBV vaccines for babies at birth within 24 hours.
As Ghana transitions from Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) vaccine support by 2030, he said, the Ministry of Health recently created a plan to guarantee Ghana self-finances its immunization programs.
According to Dr. Amponsah-Achiano, the government has incorporated Hepatitis B birth dosage vaccinations into the nation’s vaccination policy and the EPI Field Guide.
He added that the application submitted to GAVI for the introduction of “Hepatitis B birth dose into routine immigration programs” had been approved and that the government had updated data recording and reporting tools at the Ministry of Health to reflect the Hepatitis B birth dose vaccination.
“The hepatitis B vaccine is not new, but what we are introducing now is the one that we will give to a child who is newly born so that we can prevent the mother-to-child transmission.”
“It’s been on the drawing board for many years, but fortunately we have the greenlight to bring it on board to complete the recommendation of three doses minimum by the World Health Organisation, including the birth dose,” Dr. Amponsah-Achiano said.
In a speech read on his behalf by Dr. Joseph Adjetey Oliver-Commey, Managing Director of the Ghana Infectious Disease Center, Professor Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), emphasized the value of vaccination in ensuring that the nation minimized mother-to-child HBV transmission.
In order to accomplish the goals of vaccinating infants against HBV and preventing the virus from being passed from mother to child, Professor Akoriyea also emphasized the necessity for the nation to prioritize capacity-building and make use of its combined knowledge and resources.
Source: newsthemegh.com