The Ga South Municipal Assembly has allocated GH₵20,000.00 to immunization and malaria programmes in the Municipality.

Gender Desk Officer of the Assembly, Ms Mabel Simpeh, disclosed this while reading a speech on behalf of Mr Joseph Nyarni Stephen, GA South Municipal Chief Executive, at this year’s celebration of the World Immunization Week organised by Women Gates Foundation in collaboration with the Assembly’s Health Directorate and sponsored by SEND GHANA, Hope for Future Generations and the Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health, at Tsokome, Accra.

She said the Assembly had turned the initiative into advocacy for increased disbursement and spending of the proportion of the budget allocated to immunization by the government into an achievement.

‘‘Over the years, many countries boast of a tremendous achievement in the area of immunization and these hard-won gains can be lost if we lose focus on immunization programmes, having come so far, we cannot afford to see our progress rest on this plateau and watch our hard-won gains slip away,’’ she said.

Ms Simpeh said this year’s celebration themed, ‘‘Vaccines work to bring us closer’’ reminded all that immunization was a very vital exercise that demanded collective efforts.

She said the initiative was not only done to meet the shortage in personnel but also to assist overcome cultural barriers.

‘‘Sometimes fear, misinformation, even customs can make communities wary of vaccines altogether, as such, we need to be sensitive and creative in adapting immunization systems to meet the needs and cultural observances of these communities, and find ways to meet cultural demands and change their minds,’’ she added.

She expressed gratitude to the sponsors and organisers of the programme for their kind gesture and pledged the support of the Assembly to the immunization programme to ensure that the goal of getting every child in the Municipality who falls within the immunisation bracket immunized was achieved.

The World Immunization Week is celebrated globally, every year in the last week of April to raise awareness on the importance of vaccines and immunisation in protecting people against vaccine-preventable diseases.