The Ashanti Regional Health Directorate has stepped up stakeholder engagements to encourage the public to accept and participate in the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination exercise as the festive season approaches.

The Directorate has been engaging traditional and religious leaders as a strategy to reach out to the larger population due to their leadership and influential roles in society.

It has consequently met the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs to solicit the support of the House in the ongoing National COVID-19 Vaccination exercise which is set to end on December 18,2022.

Religious leaders drawn from both the Christian and Muslim communities have also been engaged on the importance of the vaccination exercise in fighting the disease.

The stakeholder engagements, supported by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other partners form part of the social mobilisation drive to address vaccine hesitancy.

The goal is to achieve herd immunity and also protect as many people as possible ahead of the yuletide to prevent another wave after the festivities.

Dr. Emmanuel Tinkorang, the Regional Director of Health Services, at a meeting with religious leaders in Kumasi, reminded the participants that the fight is not over, and the engagement is necessary because the transmission of the disease is mainly through human-to-human activities which are most likely to increase during the yuletide.

The trend of the disease, he indicated, showed that the country recorded a new wave every six months and called for a concerted effort to eliminate the disease completely.

The Regional Director said the target of the Directorate is to achieve herd immunity by vaccinating at least 70 per cent of the population in the Region, disclosing that only 48 per cent had been fully vaccinated.

He added that 68 per cent had taken the first dose and urged such people to voluntarily go for the second dose to ensure the target is achieved in the interest of public health.

Dr. Tinkorang also advised organisers of public events during the festive season to insist on safety protocols as a civic responsibility towards the protection of lives.

Madam Charity Nikoi, Social Behaviour Change Communication Specialist, UNICEF, underlined the need for the participants to lead the campaign as leaders for the collective good of society.

She said vaccination is the surest way to protect oneself against COVID-19 and urged religious leaders to be ambassadors against vaccine hesitancy.