The Italian government has granted Burkina Faso some US $150,000 to help fight a meningitis epidemic, AFP reported on Wednesday. The money will go towards sustaining vaccination programmes and medical care for victims, Italian cooperation said in a communique.
The meningitis death toll has continued to rise in Burkina Faso even though health authorities gave assurances at the beginning of April that the epidemic was regressing. The Health Ministry announced on 11 April that deaths had risen to 1,379, out of 9,623 cases. One of the main problems, a health official at the ministry told IRIN at the time, was a shortage of vaccines.
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