THE REGIONAL MINISTER FOR UPPER WEST REGION AS SPECIAL GUEST of honour at the lauching ceremony of MenA Campaign! This happened on 5th October, 2012 at Tendamba Junior High School Park.

“The objective of such customized launching was to ensure adequate public awareness for the Meningitis type ‘A’ Mass vaccination campaign in the region”, explained WHO EPI Focal Point, Mr Stanley Diamenu who has been supporting the region from the start of preparation.

Were in attendance at the launching ceremony over 300 participants including heads of departments from Department of Children, Department of Women, Prison service, National Commission for Civic Education, Ghana Education Service (G.E.S.), all the media houses in the region, Assembly men and women and the pupils and students from the cluster schools around as well as the mother support groups and the general public within the region.

Planning/Preparatory phase

There were series of planning meetings by the planning committee comprising of staffs from the regional health directorate and the municipal health directorate. The planning meeting addressed issues such as social mobilisation, grounds preparation, refreshment as well as protocols.

For the social mobilisation, invitation letters were sent out inviting all departmental heads, chiefs, assembly members, civil society organisations, the media, G.E.S., health training institutions, community support groups and the general public. Series of announcements were also made on the two major radio stations (Radio Upper West and Radio Progress) inviting the general public to attend the ceremony.

The special guest of honour was the Regional Minister for Upper West region in the person of Honourable (Alhaji Amidu Sulemana) gave the key note address. The Minister stressed on the importance of the Men ‘A’ Vaccination campaign in view of the huge cost, both human and material re-sources and time that has gone into the preparatory and the planning stages at all levels and therefore entreated every individual to contribute his or her quota to ensure the success of the programme to the benefits of the residents in the region and Ghana as a whole.

As recommended by WHO, the first days of the campaign were done in schools. The operation was so successful that some districts started vaccinating in the community on day 3 such as at Lawra District which established a vaccination post in the market. As on Day 3, the coverage for Upper West region was 47.7% with 243,565 vaccinated for the whole area.

 01 The Honourable Regional Minister, Alhaji Amin Sulemana, Middle, Witnesses The First Shot 02 The First Shot Of MenA In Upper West Region 03 Hamile Health Center, At The Border With Burkina 04 Vaccination On Market Day, Lawra District, Upper West Region 05 Launching Ceremony At Tendamba Junior High School, With Regional Minister For Upper West Region As Special Guest Of Honour
For any inquiry, please contact :

WHO Office in Ghana: Email: who [at] gh.afro.who.int;

PO Box M.B.142, Accra - N° 29 Volta Street, Airport Residential Area,

Tel: (+233) 217 63918-9; Fax: (233) 217 63920

MenA Campaign in Ghana (09-18 October, 2012) Highlights from Upper West Region