Health
ECOWAS Boosting Medical Supplies In The Sub-Region

He explained that given the urgency in the sub-region and the vulnerability of the ECOWAS’ population to the COVID-19 pandemic and other diseases, the ECOWAS Commission and WAHO under the ECOWAS Authorities of Heads of States and Governments are facilitating efforts to boost local vaccines manufacturing and other medical supplies in the sub-region.
Improving infrastructure and human resource capacity
This, he said, cannot be achieved without the needed improved infrastructure and human resource capacity.
According to him, the COVID-19 pandemic had shown that low- and middle-income countries have had to rely mostly on donations of vaccines from rich nations.
Building continental and regional manufacturing capabilities
Prof Okolo, however, explained that research had shown that building continental and regional manufacturing capabilities will contribute to pandemic preparedness and strengthen the response to feature outbreaks.
70% vaccination target requires 370m doses
Currently, he said West Africa requires some 370 million doses of COVID-19 to meet the 70% vaccination target.
Sharing knowledge and expertise
He appealed to the manufacturers to openly share their knowledge and expertise and effectively collaborate with one another to achieve the expected breakthrough in vaccine manufacturing in Africa.
Political will obtained
He said one important aim of WAHO is obtaining the political will and the go-ahead of ECOWAS Council of Heads of States and Governments to bring together manufacturers, partners, external collaborators and regulators to advance the manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines.
“Some of the things we have done on the health side is the harmonisation of the regulations so that you don’t have to go through 15 different countries in order to register a medicine, but you go to a central platform,” he added.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, in a speech read on her behalf, pledged her office’s commitment to support ECOWAS.
“We want to confirm the commitment of WHO regional office for West Africa, in collaboration with WHO headquarters, our great commitment to support member states to strength capacity for local production in the region and support member states,” she disclosed.
Dr Moeti noted that the COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the over-reliance of low- and middle-income countries on donations from rich nations.
Chairman of the Presidential Vaccines Committee, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, said Ghana was working closely with Rwanda and Senegal in the development of the COVID-19 vaccines, which is expected soon in the country for packaging and distribution for commercial use by 2024.
He gave some highlights of Ghana’s progress regarding its vaccine development efforts, citing the expected completion of the National Vaccines Institute infrastructure by the third quarter of 2022 to coordinate the development and manufacturing of vaccines.
Others include strengthening collaboration between existing research capacity enhancement of the Food and Drugs Authority to attain International Standard Organisation Level Four of its laboratory performance, and the enhancement of human resource capacity base for research, management of manufacturing plants, as well as stakeholder engagements for the effective support of government efforts.
By building continental or regional manufacturing capabilities, WAHO hopes to boost pandemic preparedness and strengthen the response to future outbreaks.
As part of the programme for the two-day meeting, WAHO hopes to find out how manufacturers will identify particular vaccines of interest to produce.
Also up for discussion will be the engagement of contract clinical research organisations (CROs) and technology platform of high yield, high-quality product using the most cost-effective methodologies available, as well as clinical trial centres.
Given the urgency in the region and vulnerability of ECOWAS population to the COVID-19 pandemics and other diseases, the ECOWAS Commission and the West AFRICA Health Organisation under the decision of the ECOWAS Authorities of Heads of States have pledged their support for the establishment of a robust vaccine production capacity in the ECOWAS region.
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Health
Measles, Polio and other childhood vaccines dispatched to regions

The Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) have received the first consignment of Measles vaccines, Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccines and Oral Polio Vaccines.
The Ministry of Information in a statement said distribution to various regions and facilities was underway.
It noted that more vaccines are expected in Ghana in the coming weeks from multiple sources.
“More vaccines expected in Ghana in the coming weeks from multiple sources,” the Information Ministry added.
It shared pictures of the GHS receiving the vaccines at the airport noting that they have already begun distributing them to various regions and facilities.
The ministry also shared photos of regional cold vans picking their consignments of the Measles, BCG and Oral Polio vaccines received and its accompanying logistics at the National Cold Room in Accra.
Ghana ran out of essential BCG and OPV vaccines as a result of the Ministry of Health’s failure to secure procurement of these vaccines since the year began.
The BCG vaccine is primarily needed to prevent the occurrence of tuberculosis in babies, while the OPV is to prevent polio infections
Other essential vaccines to prevent diseases such as measles, whooping cough, etc. are also in short supply.
Answering to parliament on the shortages, Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu said that more than $6 million has been paid to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to deliver baby vaccines.
According to him, the government expects the shortage to end in the next three weeks when all the vaccines are delivered.
Whilst urging the Legislators to approve funds needed for vaccines, he assured that shortages will not reoccur
“The assurance I will give and I can give for the first time in the Chamber is that this will not happen again and I will advise that you help me in my advocacy to get adequate funding for vaccines even the health insurance budget,” he appealed.
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Health
No measles deaths in 20yrs, vaccines arriving soon

The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, has assured parents of children who are yet to receive their scheduled vaccines due to the vaccine shortage currently being experienced in the country that the country will take delivery of these vaccines in the next few weeks.
He gave this assurance at an emergency press briefing organised to address the raging issue which has seen many worried parents moving from facility to facility in a desperate search for the crucial vaccines.
The Minister in his address stated that the nation is currently facing a shortage of some vaccines.
He said, “it is true we have had some vaccine shortages in the country since the last quarter of 2022. The vaccines in short supply are BCG, Measles-Rubella (MR), and Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). This shortage is nationwide.”
Agyemang-Manu however assured that “the Ministry of Health has been making efforts to ensure we secure adequate stocks of vaccines despite this global challenge.”
He went further to state that, “we have made all necessary efforts to ensure that despite these challenges we secure adequate stocks within the next few weeks.”
He disclosed that the country has not recorded deaths caused by measles outbreak in parts of the country.
The Health Minister indicated that there had been no recorded measles-related deaths in the country in the last 20 years, even though there have been sporadic outbreaks.
He further indicated that besides the shortage of vaccines, there had been a global decline in vaccinations with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019.
He said, “the recent shortage in vaccines for measles, as regrettable as it is, is symptomatic of the steady global decline in measles vaccination since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic.”
Agyemang-Manu however assures the citizenry that the nation’s vaccination coverage remains robust, with immunization performance coverage being among the best in the world.
According to him, “in 2021 we recorded 95% [vaccine] coverage.”
In recent months there has been a desperate scramble among worried parents of toddlers over the apparent shortage of vaccines for the six childhood killer diseases in the nation’s pharmacies and hospitals.
This coupled with an outbreak of the measles-rubella virus has left parents worrying about the safety of their children.
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Health
Ghana: Zipline delivers 14.8m lifesaving medical products

Zipline, the world’s first and only national-scale drone delivery service has delivered some 14.8 million (14,809,463) units of lifesaving medical, vaccines and blood products to health facilities in Ghana as at the end of 2022
309,000 delivery flights
These items were delivered through 309,000 separate delivery flights.
4.4m units delivered
The total units delivered amounted to 4.4 million.
8.3m doses of childhood vaccines
Childhood vaccines top the list with the delivery of 8.3 million doses.
2.05m doses of COVID-19 vaccines
It is followed by COVID-19 vaccines which recorded 2.05 million doses.
48,588 doses of malaria vaccines
The company delivered 48,588 doses of malaria vaccines during the period
10,875 pints of blood
Some 10,875 blood units were also delivered during the period.
6 Zipline distribution centers
The six Zipline distribution centers delivers lifesaving medical, vaccines and blood products to over 2,500 health facilities.
Zipline introduced in April 2019
Ghana integrated Zipline’s medical drone delivery service into its health supply chain in April 2019 with an initial support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UPS Foundation and other partners.
Instant access to health commodities
Zipline enables instant access to hundreds of health commodities for thousands of health facilities across the country.
Autonomous drones
This marked the first time in history that autonomous drones have been used to make regular long-range deliveries into densely populated urban areas.
Zipline reaches half the population
Zipline’s current network in Ghana can reach up to half the population.
Life-saving care
All too often, people requiring life-saving care do not get the medicine they need when they need it.
Reduce medical waste
To increase access and reduce medical waste, key stock of blood products, vaccines, and life-saving medications are stored at Zipline’s base for just-in-time delivery.
Health workers place orders
Health workers place orders by text message or call and promptly receive their deliveries in 30 minutes on average.
Drones deliver the orders
The drones take off from and land at Zipline’s base, requiring no additional infrastructure or manpower at the clinics they serve.
Each drone can carry 1.8 kilos of cargo
The drones fly autonomously and can carry 1.8 kilos of cargo, cruising at 110km an hour, and have a round trip range of 160km—even in high-speed winds and rain.
How Zipline works
Each week, a single Zipline distribution centre – a combination of medical fulfilment warehouse and drone airport – is capable of the on-demand delivery of more than two tonnes of temperature-controlled medicine to any point across an almost 8,000 square mile service area.
30 to 45 minutes deliveries
Each aircraft can fly 100 miles round trip, in strong winds and rain, day or night, to make on-demand deliveries in 30 to 45 minutes on average.
Zipline’s drones have flown more than five million autonomous miles to deliver more than 1.5 million doses of vaccines, units of blood, and critical and life-saving medications to more than a thousand health facilities serving more than 25 million people across three countries.
Zipline in United States
In the United States, Zipline has partnered with a leading healthcare system, Novant Health, on the country’s first drone logistics operation by a hospital system for pandemic response.
To date, Novant Health has utilised Zipline to make contactless drone distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to frontline medical teams around Charlotte, North Carolina.
Zipline operating in Kaduna and Cross River States in Nigeria
Zipline recently commenced medical delivery services in Kaduna and Cross River States in Nigeria as its footprint grows across Africa.
Set to begin commercial operations in Côte D’Ivoire and Kenya
The company is set to begin commercial operations in Côte D’Ivoire and Kenya this week bringing to five countries in Africa to have adopted the technology.
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