Defying Insults and Resistance, Prestea Huni Valley Achieves Record Vaccination Coverage

The announcement was made by the Municipal Director of Health, Mr Timothy Ofori, who revealed the personal toll of the campaign. He recounted facing direct hostility from teachers and parents, particularly when advocating for the cervical cancer vaccine.

“We had a lot of resistance these days,” Mr Ofori stated. “There were teachers, some parents… I had pure insult from some parents when we were trying to inform them to immunise their children.”

Yet, this pushback did not derail the effort. Through persistent public engagement and education, the health team managed not only to meet but also to exceed its target, marking one of the highest coverage rates in the region amidst such challenging circumstances.

The success in Prestea Huni-Valley was part of a broader victory across the Western Region, which recorded an overall 93% coverage for the immunization campaign. Mr Ofori highlighted the efficiency of the rollout, noting that many health teams finished their work days ahead of the scheduled deadline and still had vaccines in reserve.

He used the achievement as a platform to call for a renewed focus on the positive impact of vaccines, urging Ghanaians to remember a darker past before widespread immunization.

“Let's remind ourselves of those days when you could find four people in a meeting and at least one or two had polio legs,” Ofori urged, painting a vivid picture of an era when communities relied on rituals and traditional cures for diseases now preventable.

He connected the nation's progress in health to its social evolution, concluding, “We have forgotten where we came from. Today, we are talking of one man, one woman... the positive change we see is built on foundations like vaccination.”

The campaign's results stand as a powerful testament to the resilience of health workers and the ultimate willingness of a community to protect its children.

Source: Nana Esi Brew Monney

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