Kenya is expected to improve the diagnosis and treatment of meningitis in a new plan to defeat the disease within the next 10 years.
Northern Kenya lies along a strip where the disease is most prevalent, stretching from West to Eastern Africa.
The action by Kenya will be part of the World Health Organization’s global strategy to defeat meningitis by 2030.
“The goals are to eliminate epidemics of bacterial meningitis – the most deadly form of the disease – and to reduce deaths by 70 per cent and halve the number of cases,” WHO said in a statement.
The organisation estimates that in total, the strategy could save more than 200,000 lives annually and significantly reduce disability caused by the disease.
WHO said it will support local health workers to implement the strategy.
The disease is a major public health issue yet vaccines against it are highly effective.
In 2019, Kenya vaccinated approximately three million people aged between one and 29 years in Turkana, Marsabit, Mandera, West Pokot and Wajir – which are considered to be at the highest risk of the infection.
“Wherever it occurs, meningitis can be deadly and debilitating; it strikes quickly, has serious health, economic and social consequences, and causes devastating outbreaks,” Dr Tedros Adhanom, WHO director general, said in a statement.
“It is time to tackle meningitis globally once and for all –by urgently expanding access to existing tools like vaccines, spearheading new research and innovation to prevent, detecting and treating the various causes of the disease, and improving rehabilitation for those affected.”
Meningitis is a dangerous inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord, predominantly caused by infection with bacteria and viruses.
Meningitis that is caused by bacterial infection tends to be the most serious – leading to around 250,000 deaths a year - and can cause fast-spreading epidemics.
The WHO said it kills one in 10 of those infected – mostly children and young people - and leaves one in five with a long-lasting disability, such as seizures, hearing and vision loss, neurological damage, and cognitive impairment.
“More than half a billion Africans are at risk of seasonal meningitis outbreaks but the disease has been off the radar for too long,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa.
“This shift away from firefighting outbreaks to strategic response can’t come soon enough. This roadmap will help protect the health and lives of hundreds of thousands of families who every year fear this disease.”
Several vaccines protect against meningitis, including meningococcal, Haemophilus Influenzae Type B and pneumococcal vaccines.
The new roadmap prioritises the achievement of high immunisation coverage, the development of new cheaper vaccines, and improved prevention strategies and outbreak response.
It also calls for speedy diagnosis and optimal treatment for patients and good data to guide prevention and control efforts.
“We must be united in our efforts to end all preventable childhood diseases, including bacterial meningitis,” says Dr Aboubacar Kampo, director of health programmes at Unicef.
Edited by Henry Makori
