The World Health Organization declared on Friday, 12th April 2024, that Nigeria, the country with the largest African population, had developed a “revolutionary” meningitis vaccine.

“While meningitis remains a deadly and ancient disease, this novel vaccine has the potential to alter its course, averting further outbreaks and sparing countless lives,” stated Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of WHO. 

The implementation in Nigeria takes us one step closer to our target of eradicating meningitis by 2030,” he declared. With a single dose, the Men5CV vaccine protects against the five main strains of meningococcal bacteria (A, C, W, Y, and X).

According to the WHO, it provides more protection than the existing vaccination, which is solely effective against the A strain and is currently used in most of Africa. In Africa, the number of cases of meningitis increased by 50% last year.

Known as the African Meningitis Belt, Nigeria is one of the 26 countries on the continent where meningitis is hyperendemic. With a population of 220 million, it is the third-largest country in the world by population.

WHO stated, that between October 1 and March 11 2024, there was a meningitis outbreak in Nigeria that claimed 153 lives. The Global Vaccine Alliance, known as Gavi, provided funding for the new campaign, which ran from March 25 to 28 2024, and aimed to vaccinate over a million people between the ages of one and 29.

According to Minister of Health, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, “the deadly outbreak of meningitis badly hit Northern Nigeria, particularly the States of Jigawa, Bauchi, and Yobe. This vaccine gives medical professionals a new tool to stop this outbreak and set the nation up for elimination,” he stated in the WHO statement.

The membranes that surround and shield the brain and spinal cord become inflamed when a person contracts meningitis. Viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections are among its numerous causes.

Headaches, fevers, and stiff necks are common symptoms. The most severe kind of meningitis is caused by bacteria and can lead to septicemia or blood poisoning, which can be fatal or severely incapacitate a person within 24 hours.”

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