Mali news and features

The largest and most comprehensive study of childhood diarrhoea has confirmed rotavirus as the single biggest cause of diarrhoea-related death and illness in developing countries. This latest evidence suggests that a large number of children are dying from this vaccine-preventable pathogen, and supports the decision by the GAVI Alliance to prioritise rotavirus vaccines.

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.

Useful information for anyone attending the Partners' Forum in Tanzania: Climate, Passports & Visas, Health, Safety, General behaviour in public, Currency, Tipping, Electricity, Shopping

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.

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 Malian Government has fully reimbursed GAVI the amount of US$ 563,000 that was misused during the period 2008-2010.

GAVI Alliance supports African introduction of rotavirus vaccines against the leading cause of severe infant diarrhoea.