Niger begins vaccination against meningitis

While over 143 people have died as a result of the current meningitis epidemic in Niger, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is hoping to reverse the contagion curve with a massive vaccination programme that was started in the nation's capital, Niamey. 

As a seasonal infection of the thin lining around the brain and spinal cord, meningitis, Nigeriens are eagerly awaiting the return of the rainy season, which they believe will help stem the tide. 

This is according to Africanews journalist Joel Honore Kouam. In the Sahel, a semiarid region that includes Mali, Niger, Chad, and Sudan, the disease is common, especially during the dry season, which runs from November to May and is characterised by dust, winds, and chilly evenings.

"It has to be said that hundreds of them (Nigeriens) are turning up at each community vaccination center to receive their dose.  As such, many expect the campaign to be extended to the whole country in the coming days” Kouam said.

The WHO immunisation is intended for those who are one to nineteen years old. At 52.2 instances per 100,000 residents, Niamey, the capital of Niger, had the highest cumulative incidence proportion of cases this year.

"Given the epidemic threshold was reached in three health districts, the Ministry of Public Health and Social Affairs filed a request to the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision to ask for operational support. To respond to the epidemic, a vaccination campaign will be conducted in all five health districts of the region " says  Sahabi Assoumane a public health  official in the city.

After Niamey, the cities of Agadez and Dosso in the desert are most severely hit. 

Out of almost 250,000 cases reported, the WHO estimates that 25,000 people died from a meningitis outbreak that occurred in the Sahel between 1996 and 1997.

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