No fewer than 200,000 lives could be saved annually if the goals of a new global strategy to defeat meningitis are achieved, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday.
The first-ever roadmap to defeat bacterial meningitis aims to reduce deaths by 70 per cent and halve the number of cases by 2030, in addition to reducing disability caused by the disease.
The strategy was launched by a broad coalition of partners involved in meningitis prevention at a virtual event, hosted by WHO in Geneva.
Its focus is on preventing infections and improving care and diagnosis for those affected by bacterial meningitis.
“It is time to tackle meningitis globally once and for all – by urgently expanding access to existing tools like vaccines, spearheading new research and innovation to prevent, detecting and treating the various causes of the disease, and improving rehabilitation for those affected,” Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said.
Meningitis is a dangerous inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord, predominantly caused by infection with bacteria and viruses.
The most serious form of the disease tends to be caused by bacterial infection. It leads to around 250,000 deaths a year and can cause fast-spreading epidemics, killing one in ten of those infected who are mostly children and young people.
It also leaves one in five with long-lasting disabilities, such as seizures, hearing and vision loss, neurological damage, and cognitive impairment.
Over the last ten years, meningitis epidemics have occurred in all regions of the world, though most commonly in the so-called ‘Meningitis Belt,’ which spans 26 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, the report notes.
