Hundreds of children vaccinated in Ghana

Hundreds of children at the weekend vaccinated against five child killer diseases in Accra as Ghana introduced the five-in-one vaccine at a ceremony that brought in several international sports personalities.

The authorities said they expected more than 2,000 children in the capital to benefit from the Olympic Sport and Immunisation festival at the Accra Sports Stadium.

The children were the first to benefit from the vaccine, which, according to deputy Health minister Moses Dani Baah, would ensure that they had a healthy childhood.

The five-in-one vaccine protects children against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenzae type B (HIB). Children in Ghana are already vaccinated against the first three diseases.

The money for the vaccines was provided by Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations (GAVI), funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The introduction of the new five-in-in-vaccine means that children in Ghana are protected against nine diseases with the remainder being tuberculosis, polio, measles and yellow fever.

Sports personalities who participated in the event included Jordan's Princess Haya, America's Marion Jones, Cameroon's Roger Milla, and Ghanaians Abedi Ayew Pele and Azumah Nelson.

Baah said immunisation was the most cost effective public health intervention known to man.

He said 11.5 million dollars had been provided to Ghana to buy the new five-in-one vaccine as well as yellow fever vaccine and to strengthen the routine immunisation programme, and that two million dollars worth of supplies have already been received.

Baah further said the ministry of Health was "looking forward to further collaboration with the Vaccine Fund to ensure that other available vaccines against diseases of public health concern are added to our immunisation programme."

Vaccine Fund president Jacques Fran?ois Martin said the existence of the Fund had created a new alliance of all nations of the world to reduce iniquities that threaten mankind.

He said it was the determination of the Fund to save the lives of million of children who would die if they could not have access to vaccines.

Dr Martin said although it cost a paltry 30 dollars to immunise a child, about 30 million children world-wide remain without access to vaccines and immunisation and three million of them die annually.