Despite successful efforts to control meningitis in several regions, meningitis continues to be a major public health issue. It kills about 250,000 people annually, and leaves 1 in 5 of those affected with long-term devastating sequelae. It is also a significant health security concern. Meningitis epidemics can strike fast, are unpredictable and cause massive disruption to communities and health-systems.
WHO roadshow summary document
For these reasons, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed the first global roadmap that sets forth a vision and strategy to defeat meningitis by 2030, which will be launched on September 28th 2021. This roadmap includes three visionary goals: to i) eliminate epidemics of bacterial meningitis ii) reduce cases of vaccine-preventable bacterial meningitis by 50% and deaths by 70% and iii) reduce disability and improve quality of life after meningitis of any cause.
About the launch
The launch will be virtual and live-streamed on the WHO website at this link: https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2021/09/28/default-calendar/launch-of-the-defeating-meningitis-roadmap, or you can join the event directly via Zoom: https://who.zoom.us/j/96263263733
Programme and speakers
The programme will be further developed in the coming weeks.
It will include the following:
- Keynote address by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General
- Presentation of the Defeating Meningitis by 2030 global roadmap
- Case stories around the three visionary goals
- Inputs from meningitis patient and families groups
- Commitments to defeat meningitis by 2030
This page will be updated with registration information nearer to the event.