FACTS SHEETS ON IMMUNIZATION FINANCING IN GHANA

FACTS SHEETS ON IMMUNIZATION FINANCING IN GHANA

Submitted to the

AFRICAN POPULATION AND HEALTH RESEARCH CENTER

APRIL, 2020

Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health

Box AC 42, Arts Center, Accra

Email: healthcoalition2000@yahoo.co.uk

www.healthngos.net

Tel: +233541180325/+233508385212

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FACTS SHEETS ON IMMUNIZATION FINANCING IN GHANA

Key facts

• Since 2003, there has not been any record of measles death in Ghana

• Since 2008, there has not been any recorded case of indigenous/wild polio

• Ghana eliminated neonatal Tetanus in 2011

• Immunization has contributed to reduction of Under Five Mortality from 111/1000LB in 2003 to 60/1000 LB in 2014

• Immunization had led to drastic reduction in cases of Pneumonia & Diarrhoea in children

Overview

Immunization coverage in Ghana

Pent 3 is used as proxy for national immunization coverage in Ghana. Over the years, immunization coverage have been high mostly above 90% except in 2015 where coverage went below the 90%.

98

coverage%                                           88

99

97

93

2014                              2015                              2016                              2017                               2018

Year

 coverage

This notwithstanding, immunization coverage is not equally distributed across the country. Many hard to districts, communities and urbans areas are under performing. Thus, the recommended 80% and above coverage for every district is not achieved. Ghana health service report indicates that about 31% of districts could not achieve the 80% coverage for Penta 3¹.

The EPI in its comprehensive multi-year plan for immunization – 2015 – 2019, targeted achieving 95% vaccination coverage in all antigens was not achieved. This was however not realized due to the non–implementation of recommendation on dedicated government of Ghana funding for immunization²

1. Ghana Health service annual report, 2014

• EPI review, 2019

Immunization financing in Ghana

The Government of Ghana (GoG) is expected to increase its co-financing share for vaccines to 100% by 2027. Ghana share of vaccines financing increased from 11% in 2012 to 36% in 2016. At a point where government of Ghana share of vaccines financing was expected to increase steadily to full financing, the percentage of government of Ghana share of vaccines financing decreased from 36% in 2016 to 29% in 2017 and further to 19% in 2018³

Vaccine financing in Ghana

	100
	90
	80
	70
percent	60
40
	50
	30
	20
	10
	0	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
	% of vaccines financed by GoG	11	15	12	28	36	29	19
	% of vaccines financed by	89	85	88	72	64	71	81
	Gavi/donors

Figure 2: Vaccine financing in Ghana

Source: Gavi transition dashboard, access 26/04/2020

• On average about 80% vaccines cost for routine immunization is financed by gavi

• The cost of supplementary immunization programs and national immunization campaigns in Ghana is born by Gavi and other development partners

• GoG has a co-financing obligation of an average 20% of total cost of vaccines for routine immunization annually. However, this obligation has been consistently defaulted by successive governments

Key challenges

The biggest challenge has been that Planning and Budgeting for Gavi co-financing commitments and other parts of the immunization program, particularly the cold chain, have been inadequate. This is because the responsibility for financing the country’s immunization program has not been made explicit and communicated to all stakeholders, particularly health providers and the population

• Gavi transition dashboard, accessed 26/04/2020.

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• ·         Due to the above, the ministry of health, in the draft Gavi transition plan has demonstrated a weak domestic sources of funding for immunization

Call to action

• Gavi is scheduled to graduate Ghana to full financing of vaccines and its logistics in 2027. As we celebrate the world immunization week in the last week of April, we seek to remind government to put in the necessary steps to have a year on year increase in budgetary allocation for immunization to ensure the agenda of eliminating and eradicating VPDs is achieved.

• The failure of government to commit to immunization financing will imply that the exit of Gavi will cause reduction in childhood vaccination and weaken the overall health system of the country.

• The overarching implication is that the burden of disease emerging from VPDs on the country’s population will increase by 60% if the government fails to establish a funding source for immunization to absorb the full cost of immunization after Gavi exist in after 2027.