Ghana has done well in ensuring and preventing the outbreak of vaccine illnesses in the country, the Director General of Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, has said.
According to him, Ghana had reduced vaccine preventable illnesses, which includes Measles, Polio, Yellow Fever and Pneumo.
Dr Nsiah-Asare was speaking at the United States Agency International Development (USAID) Communicate for Health (CfH) Lessons Learned celebration, in Accra, on Tuesday.
He said, a lot of children had been immunised and protected against vaccine preventable diseases through the immunisation programmes.
The GHS Director-General indicated that the impact of health was through prevention, promotion, health segregation and rehabilitation.
He explained that the health sector was not performing well in relation to health education and promotion but, through CfH, FHI 360 and the USAID funding, people could easily access health.
“We have made them understand the social and cultural aspects of health,” Dr Nsiah-Asare, stated.
He disclosed that health promotion officers had been trained in all districts and regions to educate communities on the cultural needs of health.
Ms Janean Davis, USAID’s Ghana Health Team Lead, said America, through its partnership with USAID and the government of Ghana, had shared a common vision to improve the health and well being of Ghanaians for decades.
She stated that the agency in 2014, made an effort to harmonise activities that tackled health challenges in the country.
Ms Davis applauded the HPD for working tirelessly to ensure positive change in the area of health across the country.
Acting Director of HPD, Mrs Eleanor Sey, stated that the CfH project aimed at supporting and building the capacity of health promotion officers to conduct and develop social behaviour change communication at the national regional level.
According to her, the HPD received substantial financial, technical and logistics support from the project to promote its activities.
She added that her outfit received support from the project to implement a range of advocacy, community mobilisation and behaviour change communication initiative aimed at providing community action for malaria prevention and control.
BY ABEDUWAA LUCY APPIAH
