The Ashanti Regional Health Directorate has launched a polio vaccination campaign to get over one million children vaccinated against all types of polio in the region.

The exercise, which forms part of Round 1 of the Polio Vaccination Campaign, is scheduled to take place between October 17 and 20 this year.

Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services in Ashanti Region, Dr. Fred Adomako-Boateng, told the media that all hands must be on deck to fight all forms of polio in Ghana.

Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that affects children under 5-years. Transmitted from person to person, the virus spreads mainly through the faecal-oral route or through contaminated water and food, among others.

Though type 2 and 3 polio, often referred to as the wild types, were eradicated in 2015 and 2019, respectively, Type 1 is still endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In Ghana, a recent environmental surveillance picked up a polio-causing virus in Koforidua in the Eastern region.

“On 6^th September, 2024, the Ghana Health Service was notified of a confirmed circulatory vaccine-derived polio virus type 2 isolate from Koforidua Environmental Surveillance Site. The site is in New Juaben Municipality, an urban settlement in Eastern region.

The sequencing result indicate the virus is genetically linked to a virus isolate in Algeria,” Dr. Fred Adomako-Boateng Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services told a media launch event.

Informed by this development, the Ghana Health Service aims to totally eradicate polio through two-phase campaign activities in Ghana.

Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Fred Adomako-Boateng, says about 1 million children under 5 are being targeted as he calls for support of all in the region.

“Nananom, queen mothers, opinion leader, parents, guardians, headmistresses and headmasters, health workers, the media, clergy and Imams, partners and volunteers, why is it a need for us to ensure at least 95 % of all children in the country and in the Ashanti region, we are talking about One million, 42 thousand, 361 children to be vaccinated in this campaign,” he said.

“If it is in Algeria and it’s in Eastern region, then it means that all children across the country are at risk of polio, especially if you look at the vulnerable population.

We must break this transmission.” Dr. Adomako-Boateng added.

Multiple teams of public health personnel are expected to visit schools, homes, and all public places to immunise children against polio.