Ghana's national childhood vaccination program, put into practice starting in 1978 following the 1974 World Health Assembly commitment that created the global Expanded Programme on Immunization, with an initial rollout covering vaccination against polio and tuberculosis. Early coverage was minimal, around 6 percent of children under one, hampered by the difficulty of maintaining a reliable vaccine cold chain against an unstable electricity supply, but the programme went nationwide in 1985 with a goal of raising coverage to 80 percent against six childhood diseases. Ghana has since recorded no measles deaths since 2003, achieved certified elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus in 2011, and introduced pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, rotavirus vaccine and a second dose of measles-containing vaccine into the programme in 2012, building a sustained record of expanding both the diseases covered and the share of children reached.
Facts
Program StatusActive and ongoing, still expanding coverage 1 Sponsoring BodyGhana's Ministry of Health, through what is now the Ghana Health Service 1 Target PopulationChildren nationwide across Ghana 1 Health GoalGive every Ghanaian child routine access to a full slate of vaccines against vaccine-preventable diseases 1 Geographic Scope Measured ResultsDTP3 coverage stood at 99 percent as of 2022, per WHO and UNICEF data 1 Measured ResultsNo cases of tetanus since 2021, and no cases of diphtheria since 2020 1 Program status (class) Classification
Program KindVaccination or Immunization Program 1 Connections
Associated With
Source Gavi: Veterans of Ghana's Immunisation Programme Look Back
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Sources
1. Gavi: Veterans of Ghana's Immunisation Programme Look Back
Gavi, the Vaccine Allianceopening para on EPI's history since 1978
Ghana's Expanded Programme for Immunization (EPI) has come a very long way since it began rolling out vaccines against polio and tuberculosis in 1978.
para on the programme's earliest rollout in Accra and Kumasi
Back then, the Ministry of Health first began rolling out DTP and measles vaccines in Accra and Kumasi.
para on current vaccine access nationwide
Today, children nationwide have access to no fewer than 13 different vaccines.
opening para on the programme's progress since the 1970s
Death and disability from many contagious diseases have gone into retreat as Ghana's routine immunisation programme, inaugurated in the 1970s, has gained ground.
para on DTP3 coverage in 2022
In fact, according to WHO and UNICEF data , Ghana's coverage with the third dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis-containing vaccine (DTP3), conventionally an indicator of immunisatioin coverage in general, stood at 99% as of 2022.
para on tetanus and diphtheria elimination
There have been no cases of tetanus since 2021, and no cases of diphtheria since 2020.
Program classification, entity description sentence
Ghana's national childhood vaccination program, put into practice starting in 1978 following the 1974 World Health Assembly commitment that created the global Expanded Programme on Immunization, with an initial rollout covering vaccination against polio and tuberculosis.
Associated With: Public Health, Page text
Kwame Amponsa-Achiano, programme manager, Ghana’s Expanded Programme for Immunization (EPI)
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