Cameroon news and features

A revolutionary meningitis vaccine will reach the 100 millionth person this week in a region of Africa that has been plagued by deadly epidemics for more than a century. The milestone will take place in northern Nigeria, part of Africa’s “meningitis belt’, where the country is conducting its second seasonal immunisation campaign against the disease.

Partners Forum 2012 - Session summary

Efforts to eliminate meningitis in 26 at-risk countries will take a major step forward over the next three months as 50 million people receive crucial vaccinations in seven African countries.

Rotavirus vaccines will protect children from severe and deadly diarrhoea.

Interview with Muhammad Sani Adamu, Head of Accelerated Disease Control in Nigeria’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency, who played a key role in rolling out the new vaccine against meningitis A, MenAfriVac, to Nigeria’s northern states.

One of the first countries to introduce the new meningitis A vaccine (MenAfriVac), Chad ran an immunisation campaign with GAVI support in December 2011 to help eliminate the region’s devastating epidemics.

Following separate investigations into the misuse of GAVI funding in Cameroon and Niger, both Ministries of Health have cooperated fully and confirmed their commitment to take all necessary measures, including the reimbursement of misused funds. [French]

Advances lauded as Malawi becomes next developing country to introduce pneumococcal vaccine on Saturday - World Pneumonia Day.

The GAVI Alliance today announced it will provide funding for 16 more developing countries to introduce rotavirus vaccines and 18 more countries to introduce pneumococcal vaccines.

Sudan's introduction of rotavirus vaccine earlier this year signalled the start of a wave of African countries ready to counter the world's leading cause of diarrhoeal deaths with GAVI support. In September, the Alliance approved funding for 12 more African countries to introduce the rotavirus vaccine.