Ghana urged to step up polio surveillance as funding declines and cross-border risks persist

Ghana has been urged to intensify polio surveillance, strengthen routine childhood immunisation and increase domestic funding for disease prevention as declining international support and the threat of cross-border transmission pose challenges to global eradication efforts.

The call was made at a joint mega meeting organised by the Ghana National Polio Plus Committee of Rotary International at the African Regent Hotel on Thursday, October 22, 2026, under the theme, “One Day, One Focus: Ending Polio for Good.”

The meeting, held as part of activities marking World Polio Day, brought together health professionals and polio eradication advocates to examine the disease’s history, current status and the measures needed to achieve global eradication.

Dr Raymond Dankoli, Ghana Coordinator of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), said vaccine hesitancy, misinformation, insecurity, inadequate surveillance and declining donor funding remained significant obstacles to the eradication campaign.

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He explained that although the availability of effective vaccines had substantially reduced the burden of polio worldwide, sustained collaboration and investment were necessary to eliminate the disease completely.

Dr Dankoli noted that before concerted eradication efforts began, nearly 500,000 children were paralysed annually by polio. He said the disease had since been reduced to a situation in which wild poliovirus transmission remained endemic in only Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He described the progress as evidence that eradication was achievable but cautioned that the final stages of the campaign could be particularly difficult.

“The last mile is usually the most difficult,” he said, urging partners to maintain their commitment despite funding constraints and the prolonged duration of the global campaign.

Health experts at the meeting warned that Ghana’s progress could be threatened by the movement of people across borders, particularly as poliovirus continues to circulate in some countries.

Rotarian Gertrude Adzo Akpalu, Chair of the Ghana National PolioPlus Committee and a member of the Rotary Club of Accra East, said Ghana must not become complacent despite significant achievements in controlling the disease.

She said Ghana had been declared free of wild poliovirus and had made progress in responding to circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2.

According to her, the last reported detection of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 in Ghana occurred in September 2024 in Koforidua, in the Eastern Region.

She added that an independent assessment in August 2026 declared the response to that outbreak complete.

However, she cautioned that the presence of poliovirus in neighbouring countries, including Togo, meant Ghana needed to sustain its surveillance and immunisation programmes.

“Polio anywhere is polio everywhere,” she said, emphasising the need for continued vigilance to prevent the virus from re-entering the country.

Dr Gabrielle Obeng-Koranteng, a paediatrician, also stressed the importance of sensitive surveillance systems capable of detecting imported cases quickly.

She explained that population movement across borders could facilitate the introduction of poliovirus into Ghana, making it essential for health professionals to investigate suspected cases and promptly collect samples for testing.

Rotary International, the Ghana Health Service, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Gavi and the Gates Foundation were among the partners identified as contributing to polio eradication and immunisation efforts.

AM

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