In a historic move, Nigeria has become the first country in the world to roll out a new meningitis vaccine (called Men5CV) recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The vaccine protects people against five strains of the meningococcus bacteria.
The vaccine and emergency vaccination activities are funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which funds the global meningitis vaccine stockpile, and supports lower-income countries with routine vaccination against meningitis.
Nigeria is one of the 26 meningitis hyper-endemic countries of Africa, situated in the area known as the African Meningitis Belt. Last year, there was a 50% jump in annual meningitis cases reported across Africa.
In Nigeria, an outbreak of Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) serogroup C outbreak led to 1742 suspected meningitis cases, including 101 confirmed cases and 153 deaths in seven of 36 Nigerian states (Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Katsina, Yobe, Zamfara) between 1 October 2023 and 11 March 2024.
READ ALSO: First Nigerian Female Officer To Graduate From UK Military Academy Unveiled
To quell the deadly outbreak, a vaccination campaign has been undertaken on 25–28 March 2024 to initially reach more than one million people aged 1-29 years.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General said “Meningitis is an old and deadly foe, but this new vaccine holds the potential to change the trajectory of the disease, preventing future outbreaks and saving many lives.
“Nigeria’s rollout brings us one step closer to our goal to eliminate meningitis by 2030.” He stated.
The revolutionary new vaccine offers a powerful shield against the five major strains of the meningococcal bacteria (A, C, W, Y and X) in a single shot.
All five strains cause meningitis and blood poisoning. This provides broader protection than the current vaccine used in much of Africa, which is only effective against the A strain.
READ ALSO: Strike Looms As SSANU, NASU Berate Minister Over Comment On Salary Arrears
The new vaccine has the potential to significantly reduce meningitis cases and advance progress in defeating meningitis. This is especially important for countries like Nigeria where multiple serogroups are prevalent. The new vaccine uses the same technology as the meningitis A conjugate vaccine (MenAfriVac®), which wiped out meningococcal A epidemics in Nigeria.
According to Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, Minister of Health and Social Welfare “Northern Nigeria, particularly the states of Jigawa, Bauchi and Yobe were badly hit by the deadly outbreak of meningitis, and this vaccine provides health workers with a new tool to both stop this outbreak but also put the country on a path to elimination.
“We’ve done a lot of work preparing health workers and the health system for the rollout of this new vaccine. We got an invaluable support from our populations despite this fasting period and from our community leaders especially the Emir of Gumel in Jigawa state who personally launched the vaccination campaign in the state.
READ ALSO: “I Am A Man” – Bobrisky Opens Up In Court
“We’ll be monitoring progress closely and hopefully expanding the immunization in the coming months and years to accelerate progress.” He noted.
This new multivalent conjugate vaccine was 13 years in the making and was based on a partnership between PATH and the Serum Institute of India. Financing from the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was critical to its development.
In July 2023, WHO prequalified the new Men5CV vaccine and in October 2023 issued an official recommendation to countries to introduce the new vaccine.
Gavi allocated resources for the Men5CV rollout in December 2023, which is currently available for outbreak response through the emergency stockpile managed by the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision, while roll-out through mass preventive campaigns is expected to start in 2025 across countries of the Meningitis Belt.
