BY Nadia Ntiamoah
The leadership in immunisation programme has once again positioned the country as a learning hub for the continent, this time drawing the attention of Ethiopia, whose health officials are on a working visit to study the malaria vaccine rollout.
The Ethiopian delegation, made up of senior officials from the Ministry of Health and experts from its immunisation programme, is in the country to observe how Ghana has been able to operationalise the malaria vaccine efficiently—from planning and coordination to community-level delivery.
Their mission underscores the increasing demand among African nations to understand proven systems that can drive the successful integration of the new malaria vaccine into national health services.
The visit began with an engagement at the Ghana Health Service, where Ghana’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) offered a detailed presentation on how the national immunisation structure functions.
Officials walked the delegation through the evolution of the EPI, its mandate, supervision systems, and Ghana’s performance across childhood vaccines over the decades. The team also discussed the data-driven strategies, health worker training processes, and community mobilisation techniques that have helped Ghana maintain one of the most consistent immunisation coverages in Africa.
The Ethiopian delegation used the session to share reflections, ask operational questions, and exchange insights on the challenges and opportunities of introducing new vaccines.
As part of their field activities, the delegation will travel to Gomoa East in the Central Region, where practical demonstrations of the immunisation delivery await them.
They will interact with regional and district health managers, visit selected health facilities, and observe routine immunisation sessions handled by frontline nurses and caregivers.
This direct exposure is expected to give the Ethiopian team a clearer understanding of how community engagement, logistics coordination, cold-chain management, and monitoring systems are executed at the district level—factors that have strengthened Ghana’s vaccine uptake over the years.
