The Awutu Senya Health Centre in Awutu Bereku in the Awutu Senya District of the Central region, is implementing the Malaria Vaccine RTS,S, or Mosquirix. The health centre serves over 30 communities in the Awutu Bereku catchment area in the Central Region.
In 2019, the Centre recorded 603 under five malaria cases, 710 cases in 2020 and 311 for the first quarter of 2021.
The Malaria Vaccine is an add-on, to the numerous malaria interventions being implemented by the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) and its partners in Ghana.
Introduced in 2019, the vaccine is being piloted in 7 selected regions in the country.
It is administered to babies at 6 months, 7 months, 9 months and 24 months. RTS,S is the first, and to date the only, vaccine that has demonstrated it can significantly reduce malaria in children. However, the challenge is the prompt and continuous visit by caregivers to the health post for the third and fourth dose.
Another selected Health Centre for the vaccine is the Bawjiase policlinic in the Awutu Senya East District of the Central Region.
The facility which is the only Government Health Centre in Awutu Bawjiase serves over 80 communities from Ofaakor, Bawjiase, Swedru, Senya and some adjoining communities from Adeiso.
The centre which used to record positive under five malaria cases in the thousands now records cases in the hundreds.
Authorities say malaria death rates have gone down with the use of various malaria interventions.
For the health directors in the district, the vaccine should be implemented in other districts.
