Global Media Foundation, human rights and anti-corruption media advocacy organisation operating in the northern sector of Ghana through Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health has secured small grant from the Catholic Relief Services to improve immunization coverage.
The ten thousand Ghana cedis (GHs10,000) grant is aimed at improving immunization coverage in the Asunafo South District in the Brong-Ahafo region.
The funds would also help the foundation to step up its advocacy campaign on sustainable immunization financing in Ghana.
Speaking to Journalists in Sunyani, the Founder/ CEO of GLOMEF, Raphael Godlove Ahenu Jnr, revealed that sustaining immunization financing in Ghana is becoming a big challenge to the Ghana government.
This is due to Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) the main sponsor of the immunization programme preparedness to exist because of the Ghana’s economic status as a low-middle-come country.
According to him, as communities demand more immunization and health services, CSOs as a powerful voice need to put pressure on government, donors and the private sector to invest sustainably in child health and immunization.
In ensuring transparency and accountability, CSOs, he noted, must also play a positive role in supporting governments, donors, and other global health actors to be more responsive, transparent and accountable to the needs of communities.
As a health advocate, Mr. Ahenu Jnr said it is the responsibility of the government of Ghana to be more committed to ensuring that new and underused vaccines to the population for the prevention of all forms of diseases.
He said the foundation is collaborating with the Asunafo South District Health Directorate as a new strategic to ensure achievement of universal immunization coverage within the communities in the district.
Meanwhile, the CEO of Global Media Foundation, Raphael Godlove Ahenu Jnr has called for step up advocacy to ensure sustainable immunization financing, closing the funding gap and improve access and coverage.
This, according to him will help protect every child in Ghana from common childhood diseases; namely, tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, neonatal tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B, haemophilus influenza type b, measles and yellow fever.
He said even though the government of Ghana is committed to immunization programme and has shown its commitment to its funding over the years, unreliability of timely disbursement of funds to district levels is negatively hampering on immunization programmes in Ghana.
According to him, contribution to the immunization programme costs by Government of Ghana has been declining despite the increase in target population and coverage.
At a meeting with the Deputy District Director of Health Services in the Asunafo South District to discuss strategies to help increase immunization coverage in the area, which is among districts with low immunization coverage in Brong-Ahafo, the CEO noted that one of the main challenges is delays in disbursement of funds to the districts as well as delays in accounting for funds advanced for carrying out immunization at all levels.
The Deputy District Director of the Ghana Health, Kingsley Arthur, said the main challenge facing the district in terms of health are poor access to services in hard-to-reach communities’ due to lack of access to health facilities like CHPS Compound and deplorable nature of roads in the area.
The Deputy Director, further mentioned transportation as a big challenge saying most of their motorbikes have been broken down.
He called for improve access to health infrastructure in the district to help promote quality healthcare delivery in the district especially to the rural folks who are mainly cocoa farmers.
The Director Operations and Finance of GLOMEF, Victor Fosu Boamah, identified weak community based surveillance system and poor coordination of partners at district level as some major issues that need to be addressed.
He expressed the need to ensure effective collaboration among key sector stakeholders at both national and local level to ensure efficient quality healthcare delivery in country.
