Stakeholders Engaged Ahead of Maternal Immunization Safety Monitoring Pilot in Ghana

May 13, 2025 | News Feed | Reading time: 4 min

As part of preparations to pilot a Maternal Immunization Safety Surveillance Study, a two-day stakeholder engagement meeting was held in Accra to introduce the study and seek expert input to guide its successful implementation.

The Maternal Immunization Safety Surveillance Pilot Study is being carried out by the Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC), Dodowa Health Research Centre (DHRC) – both under the Research and Development Division of Ghana Health Service – and the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It aims to create a system that closely monitors vaccine safety using a pregnancy registry that will detect and report any adverse events linked to vaccines administered during pregnancy. This system will be linked to the African Union Smart Safety Surveillance (AU3S) platform.

The stakeholder meeting, held on 29th and 30th April 2025, brought together participants from the health sector, academia, and media, including representatives from the Ghana Health Service at national, regional, and district levels; the World Health Organization (WHO); the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Ghana; the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG); the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences; the Paediatric Society of Ghana; the Ghana News Agency; and the Multimedia Group.

In her opening remarks, Dr. Delese Mimi Darko, Chief Executive Officer of the FDA, underscored the importance of building strong safety surveillance systems for maternal vaccines to foster public trust.

Prof. Kwaku Poku Asante, Director of KHRC, emphasized the importance of conducting this pilot before introducing new maternal vaccines. He noted that Maternal immunization is a proven way to prevent disease in both mothers and babies, but it must be backed by reliable data and active monitoring.

Dr. Frank Atuguba, Director of DHRC, provided a brief background of the pilot study, its objectives and how it will be carried out.

The stakeholder engagement also featured breakout group discussions, where participants provided suggestions on community engagement, data collection methods, and collaborative strategies to ensure the success of the pilot study.