A Non-governmental Organization, Concern Health Education Project (CHEP), has marked this year’s World Meningitis Day with a call on the government of Ghana to ensure that the road map agreed upon by the United Nations (UN) member countries to defeat meningitis is fulfilled.
A press statement signed by it’s Executive Director, Isaac Ampomah said, the agreed road map can be achieved through effective health systems and continuous immunization programs in the country.
The statement indicated that despite significant progress over the last few decades, meningitis remains a much-feared disease worldwide with a high case fatality rate and a propensity to cause epidemics that present a major challenge for health systems, economies and societies.
It said, Meningitis caused an estimated 250 000 deaths in 2019, leaving one in five affected individuals with long-term devastating sequelae, and has serious consequences with considerable emotional, social and financial impact on individuals, families and
communities.
The statement added that the World Health Organization (WHO), with it’s global partners and experts involved in meningitis prevention and control, led the development of a global road map that sets forth a vision and roadmap to defeat meningitis by 2030, involving hundreds of experts, member
state representatives, partners, Civil Society Organizations as well as private sector representatives through multidisciplinary, iterative and comprehensive consultations.
It said the “Defeating Meningitis by 2030 Global Road Map” has been approved by the Seventy-third session of the WHO Assembly in November 2020 (resolution WHA73.9).
The road map sets a comprehensive vision for 2030 “Towards a world free of meningitis”, with three visionary goals:
Elimination of bacterial meningitis epidemics;
Reduction of cases of vaccine-preventable bacterial meningitis by 50% and deaths by 70%.
Reduction of disability and improvement of quality of life after meningitis due to any cause.
It sets a path to achieve goals, through concerted actions across five interconnected pillars:
Prevention and epidemic control focused on the development of new affordable vaccines, achievement of high immunization coverage, improvement of prevention strategies and response to epidemics;
Diagnosis and treatment, focused on speedy confirmation of meningitis and optimal management; Disease surveillance to guide meningitis prevention and control; Care and support of those affected by meningitis, focusing on early recognition and improved access care and support for after-effects from meningitis, and
Advocacy and engagement, to ensure high awareness of meningitis, consideration into countries plans, and increase the right to prevention, care and after-care services.
It said, while the road map on defeating meningitis addresses all meningitis regardless of the cause, it primarily focuses on the main causes of acute bacterial meningitis
(meningococcus, pneumococcus, Haemophilus influenzae and group B streptococcus), that were responsible for over 50% of the 250 000 deaths from all-cause meningitis in 2019,
To this end, the Concern Health Education Project (CHEP) and it’s Partners recommended to the Government of Ghana through its state bodies, the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS), some measures to adopt in the fight against Meningitis as follows:
• Make available the Ghana version of the Meningitis Road Map Action Plan and incorporate the actions into all National Immunization Programs and other Health Awareness campaigns.
• Actively involve Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and charge them to support state institutions in achieving the 2030 Road Map.
• Continuously ensure that the Health Budget in Ghana is increased above or to the 15% Abuja Declaration threshold.
• Redirect COVID -19 health levies into health systems to support services that will provide quality of care for all Ghanaians and to those who may not be able to afford it.
• Work to sustain the National Health Insurance Scheme and devise innovative ways to expedite allocations on time.
• Periodically include the prevention programs and care such that the Road Map Targets can be achieved.
Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, the covering of the brain and spinal cord. It is most often caused by infection (viral, fungal or bacterial). Bacterial meningitis is caused by several bacterial pathogens but Neisseria meningitis (Nm), Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae type B represent the triad causing over 80% of all cases of bacterial meningitis. Outbreaks due to meningococcal meningitis remain a major public health challenge in the meningitis belt.
Ghana is among the global identified belt where Meningitis is considered. The Northern regions of Ghana
have predominantly remained the areas the disease is prone.
World Meningitis Day is marked globally on October 5 each year, to create awareness about the disease and to ensure that counties followed the agreed road map in the fight against Meningitis.
The 2023 edition was marked on the theme: “Lighting the road towards defeating Meningitis by 2030.”
Read full press statement below:
Press brief: Statement
From the Office of
Concern Health Education Project
World Meningitis Day: 5th October 2023
Today Marks World Meningitis Day, a significant Day that will remain memorable as its comes as the first within the WHO calendar and the Global Health space in celebrating World Meningitis Day today hither to as part of the world immunization days 24th April days . The theme “lighting the road towards defeating Meningitis” by 2030
Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, the covering of the brain and spinal cord. It is most often caused by infection (viral, fungal or bacterial). Bacterial meningitis is caused by several bacterial pathogens but Neisseria meningitidis (Nm), Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae type B represent the triad causing over 80% of all cases of bacterial meningitis. Outbreaks due to meningococcal meningitis remain a major public health challenge in the meningitis belt. Ghana is among the global identified Belt Where Meningitis is considered, the Northern regions of Ghana has predominantly remain the areas the disease is prone
Ghana over the years has recorded minor Cases of the meningitis outbreaks, out of these the predominant cases are particularly in the northern regions, which in the past has led to the conduct of a mass preventive immunization campaign in the country since 2012 to address the burden of Group A meningococcus.
Group A meningococcus has previously been accounting for an estimated 80–85% of all cases in the meningitis belt in the country, with epidemics occurring at intervals of 7–14 years. Bacterial meningitis continues to be one of the most dreaded infections in sub-Saharan Africa and other countries that fall within the “meningitis belt” due to recurrent nature of the infection and the sequel of deliberating effects among survivors even after treatment. Ghana has had recurrent epidemics in the past but has been free from high mortality levels. Recent case of meningitis occurred during the heat of the COVID 19 pandemic era. The surveillance team of the Ghana Health service was swift to address this outbreaks which was reported in many news bulletin
Much effort are made to ensure effective health systems and continuous immunization programs in the country it is also important for Government to ensure that the Mengitise Road Map agreed by countries are fulfilled. Despite significant progress over the last few decades, meningitis remains a much-feared disease worldwide with a high case fatality rate and a propensity to cause epidemics that present a major challenge for health systems, economies and societies . Meningitis caused an estimated 250 000 deaths in 2019, leaving one in five affected individuals with long-term devastating sequelae, and has serious consequences with considerable emotional, social and financial impact on individuals, families and communities. WHO, with global partners and experts involved in meningitis prevention and control, led the development of a global road map that sets forth a vision and roadmap to defeat meningitis by 2030, involving hundreds of experts, Member States representatives, partners, Civil Society Organizations as well as private sector representatives through multidisciplinary, iterative and comprehensive consultations
The Defeating meningitis by 2030 global road map has been approved by the Seventy-third session of the World Health Assembly in November 2020 (resolution WHA73.9).
The road map sets a comprehensive vision for 2030 “Towards a world free of meningitis”, with three visionary goals:
- Elimination of bacterial meningitis epidemics;
- Reduction of cases of vaccine-preventable bacterial meningitis by 50% and deaths by 70%;
- Reduction of disability and improvement of quality of life after meningitis due to any cause.
It sets a path to achieve goals, through concerted actions across five interconnected pillars:
- Prevention and epidemic control focused on the development of new affordable vaccines, achievement of high immunization coverage, improvement of prevention strategies and response to epidemics;
- Diagnosis and treatment, focused on speedy confirmation of meningitis and optimal management;
- Disease surveillance to guide meningitis prevention and control;
- Care and support of those affected by meningitis, focusing on early recognition and improved access care and support for after-effects from meningitis, and
- Advocacy and engagement, to ensure high awareness of meningitis, consideration into countries plans, and increase the right to prevention, care and after-care services.
While the road map on defeating meningitis addresses all meningitis regardless of the cause, it primarily focuses on the main causes of acute bacterial meningitis(meningococcus, pneumococcus, Haemophilus influenzae and group B streptococcus), that were responsible for over 50% of the 250 000 deaths from all-cause meningitis in 2019,
To this End the Concern Health Education Project and Partners hereby recommend to the Government of Ghana through it state bodies the MoH and the Ghana Health services the following:
- Make available the Ghana Version of the Meningitis Road Map Action Plan and incorporate the actions into all National Immunization Programs and other Health Awareness campaigns
- Actively Involve CSOs and charge them to support state institutions in achieving the 2030 Road Map:
- Continuously Ensure that the Health Budget in Ghana is increased above or to the 15% Abuja Declaration threshold
- Redirect COVID 19 health Levies into health systems to supports services that will provide quality of care for all Ghanaians and to those who may not
- Work to Sustain the National Health Insurance Scheme and devise innovative ways to expedite allocations on time
- Periodically include the prevention programs and care such that the Road Map Targets can be achieved
