Search
  1. Home
  2. West Africa
  3. Burkina Faso

US and Germany fight meningitis

Country Map - Burkina Faso IRIN
Burkina Faso
    ABIDJAN
    The United States and Germany have donated 43 million francs CFA (US $60,000) to stop a meningitis epidemic which has claimed about 1,000 lives in Burkina Faso, AFP reported Burkinabe officials as saying on Thursday. The money will be used to buy additional vaccines. Burkina Faso is located in Africa’s “meningitis belt” and suffers from this disease each year from November to April. It has been the hardest hit in West Africa this year with more than 6,000 cases recorded since January. However the disease has entered into its “declining phase”, AFP quoted the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Health, Mathias Some as saying. About three million people have already been vaccinated, AFP reported. The German donation amounted to 25 millions francs CFA and the US contributed the remainder.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join