Prioritise the wellbeing of your children - GHS urges mothers

Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), has called on mothers and caregivers to prioritise the well-being of children.

Dr. Kuma-Aboagye emphasised the importance of mothers being aware of their babies' progress and adhering to their nutritional needs, vaccinations, and growth rates, stating that these factors are crucial for ensuring total protection and safeguarding their future.

The Director-General offered this advice during a tour by the GHS and partners of the Child Welfare Clinics at the Abokobi and Agbogba Health and Outreach Centres in the Ga East Municipality.

The visit was part of the activities marking African Vaccination Week, Child Health Promotion Week, and COVID-19 campaign week.

The team first visited the Abokobi Health Centre and Child Welfare Clinic (CWC) and then the Agbogba Outreach Centre, which operates within a church premise, offering services such as immunisation, weighing, education and counselling on nutrition and family planning, COVID-19 vaccination, and births registration.

Dr. Kuma-Aboagye, who interacted with health workers at the facilities, commended their efforts and encouraged them to enhance their services.

He stressed the need to intensify education and counselling on vaccination, nutrition, and family planning services for caregivers.

"It is important to check the growth rate of their children, to see if the child is doing well or not. Educating them on the type of food to eat and when to eat is very critical," he said.

In a briefing to the media, Dr. Kuma-Aboagye indicated the necessity for the sector to monitor the progress of the CWC and the various services offered to the people, identifying progress, challenges, and the way forward.

He observed that the densely populated municipality required additional outreach centres to enhance operations and serve the larger communities.

The team also visited the Taifa Community within the Ga East municipality, where COVID-19 vaccines were being administered as part of the COVID-19 vaccination week campaign.

"This is the usual campaign to achieve herd immunity. We set a target of 20.7 million to be fully vaccinated, which will ensure adequate protection for all," he stated.

"So far, we have about 57 per cent of the population fully vaccinated and 71 per cent who have taken one shot only, which means we still have a large population to cover. That is why we are also embarking on the campaign to capture everyone, just as the routine vaccination on child welfare," he added.

Dr. Kuma-Aboagye revealed that 40.1 per cent of the target had been achieved within two days of the campaign. He anticipated a surge in public participation towards the end of the exercise, adding that if everything went well, the target would be exceeded, helping to achieve herd immunity and ensure total protection for all citizens.

Dr. Frankline Asiedu Bekoe, Director of Public Health at GHS, also urged mothers and the public to adhere to safety protocols and to come out in numbers to take the jabs, as it is the most trusted measure for preventing diseases.

He reminded everyone that the virus is still present, hence the need to accept the vaccines and adhere to the protocols.

The Director-General was accompanied by Dr. Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, Director of Public Health; Dr. Kwame Amponsa-Achianu, Programme Manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI); and Dr. Marion Okoh-Owusu, Director of Health Promotion.

Others included Dr. Michael Adjabeng, Surveillance Officer at WHO Ghana; Dr. Akosua Agyeiwaa Owusu-Sarpong, Greater Accra Regional Director of Health; and Dr. Selorm Botwe, the Municipal Health Director of Ga East, among others.