The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has organised a stakeholder meeting to sensitise food handlers on the importance of cleanliness, food safety, and the planned rollout of a typhoid fever vaccination programme.

Speaking at the meeting, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, highlighted the critical role food handlers play in protecting public health, noting that poor hygiene practices could easily contribute to the spread of typhoid fever.

Dr. Akoriyea disclosed that the typhoid vaccine has been approved by the Food and Drugs Authority and will be implemented in phases, beginning with food handlers in hotels, restaurants, and food and beverage companies.

He urged stakeholders to practise good personal and environmental hygiene, seek early medical attention when symptoms occur, and ensure they take the required doses of the vaccine when it is rolled out.

He said these measures are crucial to preventing typhoid fever and other related illnesses.

The stakeholder engagement forms part of the Ghana Health Service’s broader efforts to strengthen food safety standards and reduce the burden of food- and water-borne diseases across the country.