A year of advocacy: pushing for progress in the race to 2030

2024 has been an incredible year in the world of meningitis advocacy and we’ve seen some powerful moments which have amplified our shared goal to defeat meningitis by 2030.  

Race to 2030 is Meningitis Research Foundation’s programme to support you to engage with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Road Map to Defeat Meningitis by 2030. Our key priority is to ensure that the voices of people with experience of meningitis, and the organisations that support them, are central to the race to defeat meningitis.  

In this blog, we’ll share some of our Race to 2030 highlights from 2024 and look ahead to what is to come in 2025.  

April: A global moment to call for change 

In April 2024, we marked a critical milestone. The World Health Organization held its first ever high-level meeting on meningitis to coincide with the publication of their investment case for defeating meningitis. 

Meningitis Research Foundation work closely with WHO and other global health bodies in a number of different ways to support the implementation of the Global Road Map. As part of Race to 2030, we worked with the WHO ahead of the high-level meeting to ensure that the stories and experiences of people whose lives have been changed by meningitis were central to the day. 

In Paris, we saw Meningitis Research Foundation ambassadors and CoMO (Confederation of Meningitis Organisations) members taking to the stage in front of some of the most powerful decision-makers in global health to share their incredibly moving stories about the impact of meningitis. Our members from around the world also came together to raise their voices in support of this milestone event, including signing our joint press release and sharing compelling stories of their motivation for defeating meningitis. 

June: Exploring challenges and opportunities in the Meningitis Belt 

June saw the publication of our report “Meningitis Health Communications: Examining channels, messaging and best practice in the African Meningitis Belt”, published in partnership with UNICEF. The Meningitis Belt is made up of the 26 countries, from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east of Africa, who have the highest burden of the disease globally. The research looks at how communication resources are used to deliver crucial messages about the signs, symptoms and risks of meningitis, as well as the importance of immunisation to protect individuals and communities.  

Through this project, we have developed a number of tools to support people to communicate effectively about meningitis.  

This work was supported by a collective of global health organisations, who are working together to support advocacy to defeat meningitis, including PATH, Médecins Sans Frontières and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.  

We had the pleasure of presenting this research at the World Health Organization’s annual meeting on meningitis in the African Region in October and our CEO Vinny Smith also spoke to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, about how important it is to fund communications in order to defeat meningitis.  



Left: CoMO Africa Regional Coordinator, Omorodion Rhoda Omoile, sharing the report in Brazzaville.
Right: Health centre in Nigeria. Credit: Daylin Paul 

October: Sharing stories for collective action 

The 5th October was a moment for us all to come together. Started by CoMO members in 2009 and coordinated by Meningitis Research Foundation, World Meningitis Day is the largest day of collective action on meningitis globally. The Road Map aims to have more than 80% of countries engaging in World Meningitis Day.  

2024 was the most successful World Meningitis Day to date, with the campaign estimated to have reached around 1.7 billion people, with 135 different countries engaging. This makes up around 70% of UN Member States and moves us closer to the 80% target. To support this, the Race to 2030 team worked closely with high profile partners like UNICEF and WHO to increase the visibility of the day. 

In addition, we collaborated with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, who ran a ‘spotlight week’ in the run-up to World Meningitis Day. Articles published through the course of the week centered around personal experiences; from sharing stories of illness, loss and resilience from Meningitis in your words, our digital library of meningitis experiences; to the importance of aftercare and support for people who survive meningitis; celebrating Paralympic success; and raising awareness about the need for vaccination against meningitis. 


Screenshot of Gavi’s “Spotlight on meningitis” page on their VaccinesWork website featuring various stories about meningitis 

Throughout 2024: national plans for global change  

2024 has seen significant progress towards the goal of having localised, targeted plans for defeating meningitis. According to the Road Map, every country should have a national plan in place for defeating meningitis.

While there is still a long way to go to meet this commitment, this year saw national plans finalised in twelve countries – eleven in Africa and one in the Americas.

Civil society organisations and advocates in these countries have been pivotal in supporting the development of national plans. For example, as part of Race to 2030, we supported CoMO member Suelen from Associação Brasileira de Combate à Meningite who spoke at the launch event for Brazil’s national plan to share her family’s story about the impact of meningitis. This was a momentous occasion as the first national plan to be published in the region.


Suelen Caroline Rosalino, Associação Brasileira de Combate à Meningite, speaking at the launch event for Brazil’s national plan.

2025 and beyond:  

As 2024 comes to an end, we progress ever closer to the midpoint of the WHO’s Global Road Map to Defeat Meningitis by 2030. We are already working closely with our amazing CoMO members behind-the-scenes on various pieces of advocacy which we’re excited to see come to fruition in 2025 and we are looking forward to seizing more opportunities for impact. 

Our Race to 2030 Resources Hub has been developed this year, aiming to create clear, usable resources for you. There’s plenty to look forward to from Race to 2030 in 2025 as we aim to provide the information and tools you need to push for change wherever you are in the world. So far, we’ve published several quick-read pieces on; the WHO’s investment case for defeating meningitis, Gavi and their investment opportunity, and ways to engage with the Road Map. Keep an eye on the Resources Hub for more resources to support your work. 

We have been honoured to work with incredible advocates throughout 2024. As the halfway point in the WHO’s Road Map, 2025 will be a milestone year for meningitis advocacy and we can’t wait to stand alongside families, communities and organisations around the world as we all continue to push for progress towards defeating meningitis by 2030.  

Find out more about Race to 2030, including all of our resources and tools, on our webpage.