Editorial: GHS Mandatory Typhoid Vaccination For Food Vendors Is Very Laudable

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has announced plans to introduce a mandatory typhoid vaccination programme for food handlers across the country. The initiative will target workers in the food and beverage sector, including street food vendors, market traders, restaurant and hotel staff, as well as employees of food and beverage companies. The typhoid vaccine is expected to offer protection for up to three years.

The programme, which is expected to be launched shortly by the Ministry of Health and the GHS, will be implemented in phases, beginning with hotels, restaurants and food manufacturing companies, before extending to market vendors and other informal food handlers.

It is intended to complement existing medical screening requirements and close persistent gaps in typhoid prevention.

Announcing the policy at a stakeholder engagement in Accra, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, noted that food handlers constitute a high-risk group for transmitting typhoid fever due to frequent exposure to contamination. He indicated that food handlers who do not receive the vaccination would not be issued the mandatory health certificate required to operate.

Ghana’s struggle with typhoid fever is not a mystery, nor is it unavoidable. It is the predictable consequence of years of poor sanitation, weak enforcement of food safety regulations and the normalisation of unhygienic food environments. Against this backdrop, the decision by the Ghana Health Service to mandate typhoid vaccination for food handlers is both timely and justified.

Across the country, markets that serve as the primary source of food for millions operate under deplorable conditions. Open drains run through trading areas, refuse is left uncollected for days and food is displayed in the open, exposed to flies, dust and human traffic.

Handwashing facilities, where they exist at all, are often inadequate. These same conditions extend to many chop bars and even some restaurants that outwardly project cleanliness but fall short of basic hygiene standards behind closed doors.

In such settings, food handlers become the frontline of disease transmission, not necessarily through negligence, but through constant exposure to contaminated water and waste. Medical screening alone, which often becomes a one-off ritual rather than a continuous safeguard, has proven insufficient. The Chronicle therefore sees the proposed vaccination programme as a necessary layer of protection for the public.

Vaccinating food handlers offers a practical buffer in a system where environmental health reforms have been slow and uneven. It acknowledges the reality that while Ghana works towards cleaner markets and safer food spaces, lives must still be protected in the meantime. International public health practice supports targeted vaccination of high-risk occupational groups, and Ghana’s move aligns with this evidence-based approach.

However, the success of this policy will depend entirely on how it is implemented. Vaccination must not be treated as a box-ticking exercise or an avenue for bureaucratic exploitation. Most food handlers operate in the informal sector, surviving on daily earnings with little financial margin. Any attempt to impose high costs or cumbersome procedures will undermine compliance and defeat the public health objective.

Equally critical is the need to ensure that vaccination does not become a convenient substitute for addressing the deeper sanitation crisis. Dirty markets and unhygienic food preparation environments remain the root cause of typhoid transmission. Municipal assemblies must be held accountable for waste management, provision of clean water and routine inspection of food premises. Without this, vaccination risks becoming a temporary shield over a persistent structural failure.

The Chronicle is of the view that this initiative represents an opportunity to reset Ghana’s approach to food safety. If paired with stronger enforcement, public education, and sustained investment in sanitation infrastructure, mandatory vaccination could significantly reduce typhoid cases and restore public confidence in the food system.

But if poorly executed, selectively enforced, or used to harass vulnerable workers, it will join the long list of sound policies weakened by indiscipline and neglect. This moment demands seriousness of purpose. Public health is not served by announcements alone, but by consistent, fair and accountable action.

 

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