The Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East Constituency in the Central Region, Phillis Naa Koryoo Okunor, has called on the Parliament of Ghana to take urgent measures to safeguard the country’s progress in reducing child mortality through malaria vaccination.

Delivering a statement in Parliament on behalf of constituents, particularly mothers and children in Kasoa, the MP described the introduction of malaria vaccines as a major milestone in the fight against Malaria, one of Africa’s most deadly diseases.

According to her, the vaccines have played a significant role in reducing child deaths in Ghana.

She cited official figures indicating that mortality among children under five years has dropped by nearly 86 percent since 2018, describing the achievement as evidence of the life-saving impact of vaccination programmes.

Hon. Okunor noted that the progress represents thousands of children saved and many families spared the pain of losing young ones to malaria.

However, she cautioned that the gains could be threatened by declining international support for vaccination initiatives, including possible reductions in funding to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, a key partner supporting vaccine access in developing countries.

To address the potential challenge, the MP called for increased domestic funding for malaria vaccination programmes and improvements in vaccine logistics and cold-chain systems, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach communities.

She also commended Ghanaian mothers, nurses and health workers for their dedication to immunisation campaigns and urged Parliament to take steps to ensure that the country’s progress in the fight against malaria is sustained.