Ethiopia launches Meningitis A campaign
Ethiopia on Sunday (October 19, 2014) launched a campaign to vaccinate 27 million Ethiopians against Meningococcal Meningitis A targeting regions of the country. This second phase preventive campaign is targeting people aged between one and 29 years in 39 zones of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR), Oromia and Addis Ababa. A Meningitis risk assessment conducted by WHO in 2012 determined the risk profile by region and, with support from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), Ethiopia launched large scale campaigns in three phases targeting all regions over a period of three years under the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Health. The first phase, conducted in October 2013, successfully reached 19 million people. The largest burden of Meningitis occurs in Sub-Saharan Africa, known as the ‘Meningitis Belt’ that stretches from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east. Neisseria meningitidis is recognized as the leading cause of