Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization and partners launched Defeating Meningitis by 2030: A Global Road Map on:
Background
Despite successful efforts to control meningitis in several regions, meningitis continues to be a major public health issue. It kills about 250 000 people annually, and leaves 1 in 5 of those affected with long-term devastating sequelae. It is also a
significant health security concern. Meningitis epidemics can strike fast, are unpredictable and cause massive disruption to communities and health-systems. For these reasons, WHO, in collaboration with partners and experts involved in meningitis
prevention and control, has developed the first global roadmap that sets forth a vision and strategy to defeat meningitis by 2030. This roadmap includes three visionary goals to:
- eliminate epidemics of bacterial meningitis;
- reduce cases of vaccine-preventable bacterial meningitis by 50% and deaths by 70% and,
- reduce disability and improve quality of life after meningitis of any cause.