By Laura Anderson | Writer and Editor
We’re gearing up for an exhilarating fall at the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP). An astounding seven countries are preparing to bring the MenAfriVac® vaccine to people across the African continent, protecting them against deadly and debilitating meningitis A. Five of these—Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mauritania, South Sudan, and Togo—will be introducing the vaccine for the first time. In Ethiopia and Nigeria, continued efforts will extend coverage to more communities.
In addition, the global health nonprofit Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) brought the vaccine to more than 19,000 vulnerable refugees in Chad last month.
Together, these efforts are expected to reach a record 55 million more people in 2014—bringing the total number of people vaccinated since 2010 to more than 200 million. What’s more, there still has not been a single case of group A meningitis in anyone who has received the vaccine.
Among other activities, MVP also completed all seven of our MenAfriVac-related clinical trials this quarter. We supported Kenyan and Ugandan leaders to plan 2015 campaigns. And we made important progress toward enabling countries to make MenAfriVac part of their routine immunizations.
Your support, in combination with the dedication of partners worldwide, is key to these lifesaving efforts. Together, we are protecting millions of lives. Thank you!
The Meningitis Vaccine Project is a partnership between PATH and the World Health Organization. Started in 2001 with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the mission of MVP is to eliminate meningitis as a public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa through the development, testing, introduction, and widespread use of conjugate meningococcal vaccines. MenAfriVac is a registered trademark of Serum Institute of India Ltd.
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