US $2.5 million needed to combat meningitis

The Gambia’s Medical and Health Department’s Epidemiology and Statistics Unit says it needs US $2.5 million urgently to prepare for a possible meningitis outbreak during the upcoming dry season, ‘The Independent’ of Banjul reported on Thursday. Quoting the head of the unit, identified as K.O. Jaiteh, the newspaper said the money was needed to buy 1.2 million doses of vaccine, needles, syringes, fuel and other items to provide for 105 vaccination teams for The Gambia’s four administrative divisions. This, Jaiteh said, would allow the teams to cover the country in 10 days in the event of an emergency. The Gambia lies in Africa’s meningitis belt, the Sahel, where many people contract the disease each year between November and April, when dry desert winds blow south from the Sahara.