Health experts and other stakeholders have held a round table discussion to brainstorm on how to increase and sustain domestic funding for immunisation service delivery in the country.
The discussion sought to build consensus amongst key stakeholders including civil society organisations (CSOs), Ghana Health Service (GHS), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), traditional and religious leaders and individuals within the immunisation space.
The forum held last Tuesday, at the Ensign Global College, Kpong in the Eastern Region was organised by Hope for Future Generation (HFFG), an NGO, with funding from Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI).
Socioserve Ghana is an implementing partner. It formed part of HFFG’s brainchild on implementing the Financing Immunisation Advocacy Response (FAIR) project to advocate greater domestic resource mobilisation and increased accountability for results in reaching zero-dose children and expanding immunisation coverage.
Ms Josephine Sackey, board member of HFFG, said though Ghana’s immunisation coverage of one-year-olds using the third dose of Pentavelent drug exceeded international benchmarks of 99.4 per cent in 2021.
She said this achievement came at the back of dependence on foreign donors providing vaccines.
She noted that the government’s inconsistency in honouring its annual obligation towards vaccine and logistics procurement was worrying and could erode gains made.
“Ghana defaulted in paying its co-financing partners in 2014, 2016 and 2018. In subsequent years challenges still persist in honouring annual co-financing obligations in full and on time. Early release every year is recommended to ensure there is no stock out,” she explained.
Ms Sackey noted that due to government’s inability to release funds to the health sector in full each fiscal year, this has resorted in logistical constraints such as old or no vaccine cold chains, transport challenges and unavailability of booklets and service delivery points.
Other challenges, she said were lack of human resource to reach remotest areas and urban poor, erratic supply of routine vaccines and negative drop-out rates in most districts.
She stated that as the country desired the roll-out of the malaria vaccine and the introduction of other new vaccines, increase budget lines for immunisation would be required to meet this goal.
Twenty-two members attended the forum which also sought to use evidence-based data to engage the Ministry of Finance, Health and Parliamentary Select Committee on Health on how to improve domestic immunisation finance.
FROM IAN MOTEY, KPONG
