News Excerpt: 

Nigeria has become the first country in the world to roll out a new vaccine (called Men5CV) recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), which protects people against five strains of the meningococcus bacteria. 

About the news:

• The new vaccine offers a powerful shield against the five major strains of the meningococcal bacteria (A, C, W, Y, and X) in a single shot. This provides broader protection than the current vaccine used in much of Africa, which is only effective against the A strain.
• The vaccine and emergency vaccination activities are funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which funds the global meningitis vaccine stockpile and supports lower-income countries with routine vaccination against meningitis. 
• This new multivalent conjugate vaccine was 13 years in the making and was based on a partnership between PATH and the Serum Institute of India.  
• Nigeria is one of the 26 meningitis hyper-endemic countries of Africa, situated in the area known as the African Meningitis Belt.

• Nigeria’s rollout moves the world one step closer to WHO's goal of defeating meningitis by 2030.

About Meningitis:

• Meningitis is a serious infection that leads to the inflammation of the membranes (meninges) that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord.
• There are multiple causes of meningitis, including viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic pathogens. 
• Bacterial meningitis is the most serious among the five.  
• Although meningitis affects all ages, young children are most at risk with around half of cases and deaths occurring in children under 5 years of age.

The Global Roadmap to Defeating Meningitis:

• Because meningitis has so many causes, it cannot be eliminated or eradicated. This plan, therefore, aims to defeat meningitis as a public health threat, reducing the number of cases substantially and keeping them down. 
• In 2019, WHO and partners launched the global roadmap to defeating meningitis by 2030.  

• The roadmap sets a comprehensive vision toward a world free of meningitis, and has three goals:
  • Eliminate bacterial meningitis epidemics.
  • Reduce cases of vaccine-preventable bacterial meningitis by 50% and deaths by 70%.
  • Reduce disability and improve quality of life after meningitis due to any cause.

These visionary goals are fully aligned with universal health coverage and have equity as a guiding principle.