Meningitis Belt Africa

About Meningitis Belt Africa

The African meningitis belt stretches across sub Saharan Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia. Epidemic meningitis caused by serogroup A meningococcus killed thousands periodically. The Meningitis Vaccine Project, a partnership between WHO and PATH, developed MenAfriVac specifically for Africa at less than 0.50 per dose. MenAfriVac was introduced in Burkina Faso in December 2010, vaccinating about 11 million people aged 1 to 29 in 10 days. The vaccine virtually eliminated serogroup A meningitis from vaccinated areas. Hundreds of millions of people have since received MenAfriVac, preventing large numbers of cases and deaths. However, other serogroups including W, X, and C continue to cause outbreaks. A pentavalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine, MenFive, targeting A, C, Y, W, and X, was prequalified by WHO in 2023 to address these remaining threats.