The Western Regional Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), has so far administered about 290,000 doses of cholera vaccines out of a targeted 641,851 to persons aged one year and above within the first two days of its Cholera Vaccination campaign. 

The campaign is being carried out within four identified hotspot areas in the region. 

The campaign, which commenced on Sunday, December 15, and would end on Thursday, December 29, 2024, is aimed at offering immunity and protection against cholera infections for residents within Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, Effia-Kwesimintsim, Shama and Ahanta West municipalities.  

Dr Nana Yaw Ofori Yeboah, the Western Regional Director of the GHS, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, said all persons from one year and above were eligible to take the vaccines, except pregnant women.  

He stated that vaccines were safe with no health complications, and appealed to the targeted individuals to participate in the exercise to help stem the spread of cholera in the region.  

He said as part of strategies to ensure they met their target the vaccination team would visit homes, schools, churches, mosques, workplaces, markets and other vantage points including healthcare facilities.  

The cholera outbreak has been on the rise in the Western region with recent updates showing that 1,633 cases have been recorded since the outbreak, with about 15 deaths.  

Aside from the vaccination campaign, health authorities have instituted various measures to contain the spread of the disease, including a ban on the sale of vegetables by food vendors. 

This was after the Environmental Surveillance investigations revealed that about 96 per cent of cholera infections were linked to food vendors, particularly through the sale of contaminated vegetables.