We support research into meningitis because it is the evidence needed for decisive action.
That’s why, in our 2025 – 2030 strategy, one of our three priorities is to ensure we fund, enable and partner in this critical area.
Our supporters tell us that breakthrough research is what they value the most, while the research community urge us to continue supporting vital research on meningitis with more focus than ever before.
That’s why research for better evidence on meningitis is at the heart of our work, with its insight able to influence and inform better health policy and practice.
What is the challenge we want to address?
Access to, and uptake of, meningitis vaccines is inequitable. Even when vaccines do exist, they often don’t reach the people who need them, in high- and low-income countries. This is even more of a problem in marginalised communities.
There is not enough research into understanding people’s quality of life after meningitis. Though funding research into meningitis has grown significantly in the past 20 years, we estimate less than 1% of that funding in 2022 went into understanding the lifetime impact of the disease.
Access to pathogen genomics is inequitable. Pathogen genomics is revolutionising our understanding of pandemics but, as long ago as 2012, we were already investing in the world’s first genome library for meningitis pathogens in the UK. Yet today access to this technology and its associated data is centered in high-income countries (even though lower-income countries have the highest burden of meningitis in the world).
Opportunities to share the latest scientific research on meningitis are rare. Experts need forums to focus on meningitis, to better understand the current and developing research agenda, so meningitis isn’t left behind in public health advances.
What is our ambition?
Between 2025 and 2030, we have committed to:
- Invest £1 million in research into the use of, and access to, meningitis vaccines and into understanding and reducing the life-long impacts of meningitis.
- Launch a new integrated research and engagement programme into the life-long impact of meningitis.
- Complete our £1 million, Wellcome-funded research programme into the use of meningitis pathogen genomics for public health.
- Deliver three international research conferences and two research spotlight sessions.
- Continue to support the Global Meningitis Genome Partnership.
What do we want to achieve?
- More equitable use of, and access to, meningitis vaccines.
- Improved quality of life for all those affected by the consequences of meningitis.
- Globally, more equitable access to meningitis pathogen genomics.
- Improved collaboration and knowledge exchange within the research community.