ICRC contributes to fight against meningitis

A shortage of vaccines is hindering West Africa’s efforts to stop an outbreak of meningitis that has killed more than 3,000 people, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Wednesday. The Federation said it had ordered additional doses of the vaccine, of which 400,000 are destined for the worst affected country, Burkina Faso, where over 1,500 people have died since January. It has appealed for 480,000 Swiss francs (US $280,000) for a vaccination campaign in seven of the worst affected countries: Burkina Faso, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Niger. The Red Cross also plans to launch an education and information campaign aimed at prevention and early detection. “The magnitude of the outbreak has caused a serious shortage of vaccine worldwide,” the federation’s emergency health coordinator, Dr. Hakan Sandbladh, said. Once the additional doses are available, WHO, UNICEF, MSF and respective health ministries would give priority to high-risk groups, he said. Meningitis is a bacterial disease that spreads easily in dry and arid climates. The Federation hopes that the upcoming rainy season will reduce the spread of the bacteria.