2 in every 5 children aged 12 to 23 months not fully vaccinated – GSS
According to data from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) Key Indicators Report, two out of every five children between the ages of 12 and 23 months have not received all recommended vaccinations in accordance with the national schedule. According to a statement from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the Northern Region had…
According to data from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) Key Indicators Report, two out of every five children between the ages of 12 and 23 months have not received all recommended vaccinations in accordance with the national schedule.
According to a statement from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the Northern Region had the highest percentage, with seven out of ten children (70.8%) in the same age group not receiving the recommended vaccinations in accordance with the national schedule.
“Six in every 10 have not been fully vaccinated in the Western (60.9%) and Savannah (58.4%) regions, which recorded the next highest percentages of children not fully vaccinated. About one in every 10 (9.0%) children aged 12 to 23 months in the Northern Region have not received any vaccination, the highest recorded, and almost five times the national average of 2.0 percent,” it added.
The GSS also showed that the second greatest percentage of children in this age group who have not had any vaccines is found in the Ahafo (8.3%) and Western (4.5%) areas.
According to the Service, 17.5 percent of children under the age of five were stunted (low height for age), 12.5 percent were underweight (low weight for age), and 6.0 percent were wasted (low weight for height) with regard to the three anthropometric indices used to assess the nutritional status of children age 5.
“Three in every 10 children under 5 years were stunted in the Northern (29.6%) and the North East (29.3%) regions, the highest rates.
“North East (20.4%) and Northern (19.9%) also recorded the highest percentage of children under 5 years who were underweight. Northern Region (7.9%) had the highest prevalence of wasting followed by the Ashanti (7.7%), Volta (7.4%), and Oti (7.3%) regions,” it added.
Additionally, the GSS reported that 21.1 percent of children under the age of five were moderately anemic, and 0.8 percent were seriously anemic, accounting for one in every two (49.0%) anemic children.
“The highest rates of anaemia were recorded in the Northern (69.4%) and Upper East (69.3%) regions where seven in every 10 children under 5 years were anaemic,” it added.
Read the full statement below:
