Conference Abstract | Volume 9 (ConfProc7): Abstract 110 | Published: 13 Oct 2026
Alimatu-Sadia Fatawu1,2,&, William Kwame Witts2, Magdalene Akos Odikro2, Delia Akosua Bandoh2, Samuel Sackey2, Ernest Kenu2
Author 31
1Food and Drugs Authority, Sunyani, Ghana, 2Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme, University of Ghana School of Public Health, Accra, Ghana
&Corresponding author: Alimatu-Sadia Fatawu; Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme, University of Ghana School of Public Health, Accra, Ghana, Email: jessicasadia1@gmail.com
Received: 29 Aug 2025, Accepted: 28 Oct 2025, Published: 13 Oct 2026
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
This is part of the Proceedings of the 8th Ghana FELTP Scientific Conference and FELTP Competency Graduation, Accra, Ghana, 10 – 11 December, 2025
Keywords: Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI), Secondary Data Analysis, Public Health Surveillance, Ahafo, Bono, Bono East Regions
©Alimatu-Sadia Fatawu et al Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Alimatu-Sadia Fatawu et al. Monitoring vaccine safety in Ghana: Burden, distribution and clinical characteristics of adverse events following immunization in the Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo Regions of Ghana, 2019–2023 . Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2026;9(ConfProc7):110. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO7-00110
In 2021, over 3,000 Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) cases were reported in Ghana. While immunization remains a cornerstone of disease prevention, concerns about vaccine safety can erode public confidence. This study examined the burden, distribution, and clinical characteristics of AEFIs in Ghana’s Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo Regions.
A descriptive analysis of secondary AEFI surveillance data from 2019 to 2023 was conducted. Reports were extracted from the Food and Drugs Authority Safety Monitoring Database. Key variables abstracted include age, sex, vaccine type, reaction type, severity, and outcomes. Data were cleaned and analyzed in Stata software to generate frequencies, proportions, and incidence rates.
A total of 1,730 AEFI cases were reported from 2019 to 2023. Children under one year constituted the most cases (55.9%, 932/1730). The sex distribution was equal, with females and males each representing 49.8% (862/1730). Most reported AEFIs were non-serious (83.9%, 1452/1730). Across the regions, Bono East recorded the highest incidence rate (89.7 per 100,000 population), whereas Bono reported the lowest (24.1 per 100,000). The rate of serious AEFIs was estimated at 93 per 1,000,000 subpopulations. Causality assessments showed 75%(209/278) of serious events were coincidental. Malaria vaccine (RTS,S) was the most frequently implicated (50.6%, 875/1730), followed by COVID-19 vaccines (19.3%, 333/1730). The most commonly reported clinical manifestations were fever (31.9%, 552/1730) and injection site reactions (18.6%, 322/1730).
This analysis found that the newly introduced malaria RTS,S and COVID-19 vaccines were the most implicated antigen. Overall, serious cases met the new Global AEFI target of 1 serious case per 1,000,000 population. While the findings are reassuring, regional differences and declining reporting trends were observed. We recommend refresher training, active, and sentinel monitoring to strengthen AEFI surveillance.
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