Nigeria has received more than 1 million vaccines to fight an ongoing
meningitis outbreak
[April 05, 2025]
By DYEPKAZAH SHIBAYAN
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria has received more than 1 million vaccines
from the Gavi-funded global stockpile to combat a meningitis outbreak in
the northern part of the country, the government said on Friday.
At least 74 people have died from the disease, with more than 800 cases
reported across 23 of Nigeria’s 36 states, according to the Nigeria
Center for Disease Control, or NCDC. The northern region of the country
has been hit hardest by the disease.
Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate said that the arrival of the vaccines
is a crucial milestone in Nigeria’s response to the current meningitis
outbreak.
“We have prioritized epidemic preparedness and rapid response as part of
our broader health security agenda,” Pate said in a joint statement by
the global vaccine alliance Gavi, UNICEF, the World Health Organization
and the Nigerian government.
The vaccine is also critical to Nigeria’s long-term health security and
helping prevent future outbreaks and safeguarding future generations,
said Walter Kazadi Mulombo, WHO’s representative in Nigeria.
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 Meningitis, more common during the
hot season in Nigeria, affects the protective membranes surrounding
the brain and spinal cord. It's a significant public health
challenge in Africa’s most populous country, which is also battling
malaria.
Nigeria previously received aid from the U.S.
Agency for International Development to combat these diseases, but
that support has recently been withdrawn.
Nigeria is located in an area known as the African Meningitis Belt.
Between 2022 and 2023, the country recorded 2,765 suspected cases
and 190 deaths, according to NCDC.
Nigeria is working to implement a road map approved by the World
Health Assembly in November 2020 that aims to eradicate meningitis
by 2030.
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