Red Cross appeals for funds to fight meningitis

The International Federation of the Red Cross is appealing for US $59,000 to help counter the further spread of meningitis in Burkina Faso, where the disease has killed 1,056 people this year and infected nearly 8,500. The money is to be used to support the Burkinabe Red Cross in a public awareness campaign targeting 1.9 million people in the 14 most affected districts, the Federation said on 18 April, in the latest issue of its bulletin, Federation News. It said 1,000 Red Cross volunteers would participate in a door-to-door campaign, providing information on early self-diagnosis and encouraging those suspected of being ill to seek immediate medical help. The epidemic was first reported in January in the eastern district of Diapaga. Since then, the Burkinabe Ministry of Health has reported cases in all of the country's 53 districts, the Federation said.