Nigeria has taken a significant stride in the fight against meningitis by becoming the first country to introduce the Men5CV vaccine, as announced by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Meningitis is a severe threat in Nigeria, which has been identified as one of the hotspots for the disease in Africa. Last year alone, there was a 50% surge in annual cases reported across 26 African countries categorized as meningitis hyperendemic countries, according to WHO data.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, emphasised the importance of Nigeria’s rollout, stating that it brings the world closer to the goal of eliminating meningitis by 2030.
Recent statistics from WHO reveal that between October of last year and mid-March of this year, Nigeria recorded 1,742 suspected cases of meningitis, resulting in 153 fatalities across seven states.
The new Men5CV vaccine offers protection against the five major strains of meningitis prevalent in Nigeria, which is a significant improvement over the previous vaccine that targeted only one strain, WHO reported.
Melissa Enoch
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