Uniting to call for sustained and sufficient action to defeat meningitis, so lives can be saved

WHO's First high-level global meeting to defeat meningitis, Paris, 26th April 2024: Meningitis Research Foundation and the Confederation of Meningitis Organisations joint announcement

Today, 26th April 2024, Meningitis Research Foundation and the Confederation of Meningitis Organisations, together with members from around the world, renew their commitment to bring together the voices of advocates, patients, families and communities around the world in the fight to defeat meningitis; a disease which still kills 240,000 people every year despite being largely preventable and treatable.

This pledge comes in celebration of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) first high-level meeting to defeat meningitis. Hosted today in Paris by the French government, the event will be a global call to action to boost political, technical and financial commitments towards defeating meningitis. This is part of the WHO’s plan to dramatically reduce the impact of meningitis, as set out in their Global Road Map to Defeat Meningitis by 2030, which was approved by all 194 Member States of the World Health Assembly in 2020. 

The event will also see the much-anticipated launch of the WHO’s investment case for meningitis. The investment case will set out the funding requirements, as assessed by the WHO, for each of the different areas of work within the Road Map. Sustained and coordinated investment, alongside increased awareness and understanding, will be a gamechanger in the journey towards defeating meningitis, a life-threatening infection which can kill in just 24 hours and still causes devastating epidemics in some countries.

Turning the WHO’s Global Road Map into a reality could save more than 200,000 lives annually and significantly reduce life-long disabilities caused by meningitis. WHO estimates that bacterial meningitis kills 1 in 6 people who contract it and causes severe complications for 1 in 5 people who survive it. The publication of the investment case is an important step towards reducing this, by setting out what is needed to ensure that life-saving awareness-raising initiatives, vaccine development and delivery, healthcare provision and disease surveillance are fully resourced. 

Vinny Smith, Chief Executive of Meningitis Research Foundation and the Confederation of Meningitis Organisations, says: 

“The publication of the investment case is a critical milestone in the journey towards defeating meningitis. The only way to meet the Road Map’s goals, to end preventable deaths and reduce the life-changing impacts of meningitis, is to ensure that governments, funders, research institutes, civil society and people with lived experience come together to enable increased awareness; and that the necessary resources are provided to ensure a future in which meningitis can be defeated. Now is the time for action. 

As we approach the halfway point in the timeline towards 2030, the first global gathering of governments, international institutions, patients and advocates to focus solely on meningitis must be celebrated and recognised as an opportunity to push for the much-needed ambition, attention and resourcing to defeat meningitis by 2030.

Advocates around the world have been pivotal in the progress made so far towards defeating meningitis and we, at Meningitis Research Foundation and CoMO, are proud to continue our work in supporting people whose lives have been affected by meningitis to push for the changes they need to see.” 

The voices of people affected by meningitis have been crucial in the development and implementation of the WHO’s Road Map. From engaging with global initiatives such as World Meningitis Day, to individual actions, like meeting with policymakers or holding an event in memory of a loved one, advocates continue to be instrumental in progress towards defeating meningitis.

Now that WHO have set out what is required, it is time for governments, policymakers and international institutions to step up and drive the implementation of the Global Road Map forwards, by providing the resources, technical support and commitment required to defeat meningitis. 

Today, Meningitis Research Foundation and CoMO are proud to be a part of the many patients, families, communities and civil society organisations pushing for change as we renew our commitment to bringing together the voices of people affected by meningitis:

Meningitis Research Foundation, including the global membership of the Confederation of Meningitis Organisations, pledge to provide a platform for advocates around the world to raise and unite their voices in the fight to defeat meningitis.

We will continue to support people whose lives have been profoundly affected by meningitis across the world, working with them to shape patient-centred health campaigns so that lives can be saved and the devastating impacts of meningitis on families and communities are reduced. We will help to bring together the best available data on meningitis, to enable groundbreaking research, to engage with experts and facilitate the sharing of up-to-date and impactful evidence.

By amplifying the voices of people whose lives have been affected by meningitis, we will continue to raise much-needed awareness of the risks and life-long impacts, including through critical mass participation events such as World Meningitis Day.

We pledge to drive forwards WHO’s Global Road Map, focusing our work on advocacy and engagement so that grassroots organisations have the resources they need to work with and for meningitis survivors on the implementation of the Road Map. We will support patients, communities and civil society organisations to effectively advocate for the changes needed in their communities; pushing national, regional and global decision-makers to ensure that health policy is developed and delivered for us all, so that the Road Map’s vision of defeating meningitis by 2030 becomes a reality.

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