MENINGITIS: UN Seeks Ethiopia Aid; Epidemic Grows in Africa
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Source UNWire - Tuesday, 10 April, 2001
http://www.unfoundation.org
The UN team in Ethiopia has appealed for "immediate action" from in-
ternational donors to provide vaccines and US$ 200,000 for local
costs, logistics, coordination, mobilization and case management in
the fight against Ethiopia's spreading meningitis epidemic. Ethiopia
needs 3.7 million vaccine doses to control the spread of the disease,
the team said in a release. Authorities registered 1,656 new cases
last month, bringing the total since October to 3,521, of which 195
have resulted in death. The spread of meningitis outside the coun-
try's traditional "meningitis belt" in western Ethiopia is particu-
larly alarming, the team said, because other regions have little or
no experience dealing with the disease (UN Country Team in Ethiopia
release/ReliefWeb, 6 Apr).
Epidemic Spreads in Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Benin
Meningitis continues to ravage the populations of Burkina Faso, Chad
and Niger. The World Health Organization reports 1,193 deaths between
25 December and 25 March in the three countries. Burkina Faso is the
worst-affected, with 901 deaths (Inter Press Service/TerraViva, 5
Apr). Meningitis has also killed 275 in Benin this year (South Africa
Independent Online, 3 Apr). The disease has killed 258 people in Ni-
ger as of 3 April (Panafrican News Agency/Kakaki: News of Niger, 8
Apr).
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