A variety of meningococcal vaccines are used to protect against seasonal epidemics and outbreaks, especially in Africa’s meningitis belt.
A variety of meningococcal vaccines are used to protect against seasonal epidemics and outbreaks, especially in Africa’s meningitis belt.
By end 2023, Gavi-supported meningococcal A vaccination campaigns had reached more than 339 million children and young adults in 24 countries in Africa’s ‘meningitis belt’; and more than 62 million children in 15 countries had been immunised through routine programmes. By end 2024, the Gavi-funded multivalent meningococcal vaccine emergency stockpile had been accessed 68 times by 16 countries, with more than 34.4 million doses shipped for outbreak response.
In May 2023, Guinea-Bissau introduced meningococcal A vaccine into the routine immunisation programme, followed by a catch-up campaign in September targeting children aged one to seven years who were missed since the previous preventive mass vaccination campaign in 2016. There are still 11 countries that have yet to introduce the vaccine into the routine immunisation programme; 9 of those countries conducted a preventive mass vaccination campaign more than five years ago. Further delaying introduction of meningococcal A vaccine will result in loss of herd protection and could create pockets of susceptible individuals, leading to a high risk of catastrophic resurgence of Neisseria meningitidis A epidemics.
In response to an outbreak that began in 2022, Niger implemented an emergency vaccination campaign with the trivalent ACW meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine in early 2023 targeting more than 370,000 people aged 2–29 years across four health districts. In March 2023, Nigeria launched an emergency campaign with ACYW conjugate vaccine targeting more than 194,000 people aged 1–29 years in Jigawa State.
Meningococcal meningitis is most prevalent in Africa’s ‘meningitis belt’, which stretches across 26 countries in Africa – from Senegal in the West to Ethiopia in the East – with an at-risk population of about 500 million, where epidemics can occur in the dry season (December–June). Those at highest risk of infection are infants, children and young adults. Meningitis can kill in less than 24 hours, and the disease leaves one in five surviving the acute episode with long-lasting disabilities such as hearing loss, seizures, paralysis, cognitive impairments, limb amputation or skin scarring. Meningococcal meningitis has a significant social and economic impact. Gavi-supported meningococcal A vaccination campaigns and routine introductions have virtually eliminated meningitis A – which speaks to the concerted efforts of global partners, donors and most importantly communities in affected countries who are driving effective vaccination programmes. Other meningococcal strains (i.e. mainly C, W and X) continue to cause devastating epidemics. Meningococcal vaccination represents a key component of the Defeating meningitis by 2030 global road map – which aims to eliminate bacterial meningitis epidemics by 2030.
Gavi does not yet support meningococcal diagnostics; however, work is under way to do this in order to help improve meningococcal vaccine targeting and outbreak detection. More details will be available on the forthcoming Gavi diagnostics webpage.
In the 26 countries of the meningitis belt, Gavi currently supports:
1. In exceptional cases, countries that have not yet introduced meningococcal A vaccine in their routine schedule may apply for routine introduction of MMCV when an evidence-based decision justifies this choice.
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