The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has urged parents and caregivers to ensure every eligible child receives polio vaccination, as Ghana marks World Polio Day following the closure of its type 2 poliovirus outbreak in August.
In a statement dated October 24, 2026, the Service highlighted the outbreak’s closure as a significant achievement but stressed that continued vaccination, disease surveillance and community participation remain essential to protecting children.
The statement, bearing the name of Director-General Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, presents this year’s commemoration under the theme, “One Day, One Focus: Ending Polio for Good.”
Outbreak closed, vigilance continues
Ghana was among five African countries whose type 2 poliovirus outbreaks were declared closed in August, alongside Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, the Republic of Congo and Uganda.
The World Health Organization confirmed the closures on August 19 following independent assessments of surveillance, laboratory and epidemiological evidence. The assessments established that transmission associated with the outbreaks had been interrupted.
The GHS credited Ghana’s progress to routine immunisation, supplementary vaccination campaigns, rapid outbreak responses and cooperation with communities and development partners.
Those partners include WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, Rotary International and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, the Service cautioned against treating the achievement as a reason to relax disease monitoring, recalling the warning that “a polio case anywhere is a polio case everywhere.”
Protecting every eligible child
According to the statement, Ghana introduced the Inactivated Polio Vaccine in 2018 and added a second dose in 2024. The Service also reported immunisation coverage above 95 per cent, attributing the country’s gains to sustained investment in vaccination and outbreak response.
Its appeal places families and communities at the centre of efforts to maintain that protection.
“On this occasion, we call on all Ghanaians to support this cause by ensuring that every eligible child is vaccinated,” the statement said.
Polio can cause irreversible paralysis. Although vaccination can prevent the disease, closing an outbreak does not remove the possibility of future infections or importations.
WHO says continued surveillance and preparedness remain necessary after transmission has been interrupted.
For Ghana, the World Polio Day message is therefore both a recognition of progress and a call to sustain the work that made it possible.
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