Public health advocates and civil society organisations have sounded a stark warning over Ghana’s failure to meet its 2025 vaccine co-financing obligations, stressing that bureaucratic delays and political inaction are putting thousands of children at risk of disease and death.
At a media sensitisation workshop held in Accra, speakers including Mrs. Cecilia Senoo, Executive Director of Hope for Future Generations (HFFG), and Mr. Stephen Atasige, Country Coordinator of the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), decried the government’s delayed $16.3 million payment to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI)—a delay now well into the second quarter of the year.
“This isn’t just about numbers or funding gaps—it’s about children dying needlessly from preventable diseases like measles,” said Mrs. Senoo. She recalled a recent tragedy where a traditional leader lost a child to measles due to a vaccine stockout, calling it “an unacceptable failure of the system.”
Ghana, currently in GAVI’s accelerated transition phase, is obligated to fund 50% of its vaccine procurement costs as it moves toward full self-financing by 2030. Yet despite uncapping the National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL)—the country’s key domestic funding source for vaccines—fund disbursement remains hindered by red tape, threatening the country’s immunisation programme.
Mr. Atasige stressed that the stakes are high. “Every day of delay increases the risk of stockouts. Delays in payment mean GAVI cannot place timely vaccine orders, and that leaves our health system dangerously exposed,” he said.
He called on the government to adopt more proactive and innovative financing mechanisms such as earmarked taxes, vaccine trust funds, or vaccine bonds, citing Senegal and other countries as successful examples. “We have a national vaccine roadmap in place. What we need now is political will,” he added.
Though Ghana’s missed payment only accounts for 5% of GAVI-supported vaccine procurement, its non-fulfilment could halt vaccine shipments entirely—crippling immunisation efforts and increasing vulnerability to outbreaks among the country’s most vulnerable: children who have never received a single vaccine dose, known as “zero-dose” children.
HFFG, under its Financing Immunisation Advocacy Response (FAIR) project, is spearheading efforts to ensure vaccine financing becomes a national priority. Through grassroots and high-level advocacy, the group is urging government, private sector actors, traditional leaders, and media to collectively demand urgent action.
“This is not about charity; it’s about survival,” Mrs. Senoo insisted. “Vaccines are the most cost-effective public health intervention we have. Failing to fund them is failing an entire generation.”
Both advocates stressed that the government should consider advance payments for vaccine procurements to prevent annual bureaucratic delays and last-minute emergencies.
The message was clear: vaccine financing is not optional—it is a life-and-death responsibility. As Ghana edges closer to full self-financing by 2030, the time to act is now.
