The Savannah regional Health directorate has launched this year’s Novel Oral Polio vaccination campaign at Damongo in the Savannah regional capital.
At a stakeholders meeting on Wednesday, 31st August, 2022 to launch the campaign, the regional health Director, Dr. Chrysantus Kubio explained that, in june this year, the polio laboratory at the Nuguchi memorial institute for medical Research notified the Ghana health service on the detection of a circulating vaccine Derived polio virus Type two ( cVDPV2 ) from environmental samples of which the country confirmed 34 cVDPV2 including one acute Flaccid Paralysis case in the North Gonja district in the Savannah region.
He added that, the confirmation of the type cVDPV2 polio virus in the country and in the African subregion constitutes a crisis for the global polio Eradication initiative and requires urgent steps to enhance polio surveillance and increase population immunity.
Dr. Kubio further explained that, the Ghana health service together with their global Eradication initiative partners are due to conduct two rounds of polio vaccination campaigns for eligible children under five years in all districts of the Savannah Region from 1st to 4th September, 2022 using the Novel Oral Polio Vaccine Type 2 ( nOPV2 ).
According to the Regional health Director, the Polio disease is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus and shed into the environment through faeces where it rapidly spreads through communities especially in poor hygiene and sanitation areas and invades the nervous system which causes irreversible paralysis in a matter of hours.
The Savannah regional health director appreciated the efforts of the stakeholders and staff of the regional health directorate for their constant response to the various disease incidence recorded in the region and urged parents, caregivers as well as traditional and religious leaders to ensure that every child within the region receives the polio vaccine in order to protect them from the polio disease.
There is no cure for polio, but the vaccine protects children against the polio disease.
A team of health workers and volunteers will be moving from house to house, markets, lorry stations and other vantage points to vaccinate all eligible children under 5 years from 1st – 4th September, 2022.
Your child needs polio vaccines so as she/he needs both legs. Let’s come together and drive polio away.
PadfmNews/ Kumatey Gorden
