About us

Meningitis Research Foundation is an international health charity headquartered in the UK. We’re driven by a passionate mission to prevent the devastating impact of meningitis.

Our charity was founded by individuals whose lives were profoundly affected by meningitis. We’re dedicated to enabling positive change, uniting people and knowledge to save lives.

The Confederation of Meningitis Organisations (CoMO) is our worldwide network. It brings together people and groups with a shared purpose to defeat meningitis. With their diverse experience and expertise, they’re a formidable global force against this life-threatening condition.

Why we’re needed

Meningitis is the swelling of the lining around the brain and spinal cord (the meninges) and is usually caused by a bacterial, fungal or viral infection. It can be life-threatening.

Did you know:

• Every year, there are around 2.3 million cases of bacterial and viral meningitis around the world. 1 in 10 people who get meningitis will die.^1,2
• Meningitis can strike anyone at any time, but some people are particularly at risk because of age, living in crowded conditions and immune deficiencies such as HIV. Babies, children and young adults are some of the groups most at risk of meningitis.⁴
• In 2021 (the most recent annual estimates), around 214,000 people died from meningitis. Approximately 40% of all deaths from meningitis are in children under five.^1,2,3
• Bacterial meningitis is one of the deadliest forms of meningitis, with the World Health Organization estimating that around 1 in 6 people who get it will die.⁴
• Across the world, bacterial meningitis leaves 1 in 5 people with lifelong disabilities. These include hearing loss, brain damage, limb loss and epilepsy.^4,5
• Most meningitis deaths can be prevented but progress is behind other infectious diseases. Between 2000 and 2021, meningitis deaths fell by 45%, while deaths from measles fell by 89% and tetanus by 79%.^1,2
• People living in a region of sub-Saharan Africa known as the “Meningitis Belt” are at the highest risk of getting meningitis globally: they are over 14 times more likely to get meningitis in their lifetime than people living in Europe.²