U.N. COORDINATES MENINGITIS VACCINATION IN AFRICA

The World Health Organization (WHO) is coordinating a mass vaccination and treatment campaign to combat meningitis outbreaks in four African countries that have already killed 1,670 people, the U.N. agency has announced.

The four affected countries -- Burkina Faso, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda -- are in the so-called meningitis belt stretching from Senegal to Ethiopia.

WHO, Médecins Sans Frontières and the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision for Epidemic Meningitis have so far administered more than 1.6 million doses of vaccine. Furthermore, the ICG has secured approximately 8 million doses for an emergency stockpile.

Despite concerns about a shortage of vaccine, WHO estimates that roughly 15 million doses are still available on the market for countries to purchase. To address a potential shortage, WHO has identified which manufacturers can quickly scale up production, the U.N. said.

WHO established the ICG to ensure rapid and equal access to low-cost vaccines and medicine for meningitis after major outbreaks in the 1990s, according to a U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) article. The ICG provides vaccines prior to receiving payment.

Governments can purchase the polysaccharide A and C meningitis vaccines for approximately $0.66 per dose, IRIN reports, whereas the same vaccines purchased on the open market can cost $14 or more.