At least 11 people have died from meningitis in the past three days in the Ivory Coast. There were 40 reported cases in four departments across country during the month of February, 2012. People are scrambling to access vaccinations for their families. The ministry of health has declared the outbreaks in the Kouto and Tengrela regions as epidemics, and are providing free vaccinations in both locations through mobile health teams. They are achieving this with the help of the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Bacterial and viral meningitis are diseases which cause inflammation in layers of the brain and spinal cord, and the former has a high fatality rate. Residents of affected cities Saminkro and Kani must pay US$5 each for a vaccination, or $3 if they come forward as a group. People are lobbying the health ministry to bring down prices as many cannot afford to raise enough money to vaccinate their families. “It’s a question of economics,” Jeremie Ipo, director of the district health centre in the village of Poungbè in Korhogo region, told IRIN. “We can only reduce the price of the vaccine as soon as there are enough people demanding it.” The government recently abandoned the provision of free health care for all because of extremely high costs. While birth deliveries and some immunisations for children under age six are still covered, meningitis is not included. A 2009/2010 meningitis outbreak killed over 900 people and infected over 13,000 in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria.
- RSOE EDIS
No comments:
Post a Comment