US aid cuts threaten Ghana’s child immunisation gains

Accra, Ghana – Ghana was among the first countries in Africa to introduce the RTS,S malaria vaccine into its routine immunisation programme. In Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, the vaccine was associated with a 13 percent reduction in mortality among children eligible for vaccination, with roughly one in eight deaths averted.But keeping those gains will require more than the vaccine itself. Health workers still have to reach children, trace those who miss doses and get vaccines safely to communities.That work is now under pressure.The suspension of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) programmes left Ghana facing an estimated $156m funding gap across affected programmes, including a projected $78.2m shortfall in health. The health funding supported programmes including malaria prevention, maternal and child health, nutrition, family planning and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) services.The disruption has also raised concerns about the systems that keep routine immunisation running.‘We cannot wait for donors to return’A study examining donor withdrawal in northern Ghana found that 75 percent of the districts surveyed reported vaccine delays or irregular supplies. Th...