The Bono East Regional Directorate of Health has targeted to immunize 170,957 people against yellow fever by the close of the year, Dr Fred Adumako-Boateng, the Regional Director of Health said on Wednesday.

He said people between the ages of 10 and 60 years would be immunized to build their immune systems and to protect them as well.

Dr Adumako-Boateng said this at the launch of the “Preventive Mass Vaccination Campaign against Yellow Fever” held in the Techiman Municipality.

Pregnant women, People Living with HIV/AIDS and life-threatening diseases such as hypertension would be exempted from the exercise, which begins November 12 to November 18.

Dr Adumako-Boateng explained Ghana was among the 47 countries worldwide that were at risk of yellow fever, hence the need to undertake the exercise to prevent the outbreak of the disease.

Globally, he said, out of the about 200,000 cases of yellow fever reported annually, more than 30,000 deaths occurred, saying 500 million people were at risk of contracting the disease.

Dr Adumako-Boateng yellow fever was transmitted among humans by ‘Aedes egypti’ mosquitoes, adding vaccination remained an effective remedy and protected people and urged people within the age group to avail themselves for the six-day exercise.

Mr George Padmore Mensah, the Bono East Regional Coordinating Director, said the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service (GHS) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi, the Vaccination Alliance, and UNICEF would be conducting the Sub-National Mass Yellow Fever Campaigns at selected districts in the country.

This forms part of efforts to boost population immunity and the nation’s overall strategy to eliminate yellow fever.

He indicated designated centres had been set up in the Techiman Municipality and the Techiman North District and urged traditional authorities, health workers and other stakeholders to support and make the exercise successful.

Mr Mensah, therefore, pleaded with health workers who would be engaged in the campaign exercise to be time conscious and committed to help achieve the set target.