A Global Plan to Defeat Meningitis by 2030
“Wherever it occurs, meningitis can be deadly and debilitating; it strikes quickly, has serious health, economic and social consequences, and causes devastating outbreaks. It is time to tackle meningitis globally once and for all –by urgently expanding access to existing tools like vaccines, spearheading new research and innovation to prevent, detecting and treating the various causes of the disease, and improving rehabilitation for those affected.”
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has developed a global plan to dramatically improve meningitis prevention, diagnosis and treatment, disease monitoring, health advocacy, support and aftercare.
This is a game changer for people at risk of or affected by meningitis. Turning the WHO’s Global Road Map to Defeat Meningitis by 2030 into reality could save more than 200,000 lives annually and significantly reduce disabilities caused by meningitis. At present, bacterial meningitis kills 1 in 10 people who contract it and causes lifelong disability in 1 in 5 people who survive it.
The Road Map was presented at the World Health Assembly in November 2020, where countries decided to take it forward. They did this by voting on a 'resolution'. The Global Road Map to Defeat Meningitis by 2030 sets out a detailed plan to tackle the main causes of acute bacterial meningitis (including meningococcus, pneumococcus, Haemophilus influenzae and group B streptococcus).
The Road Map was developed by WHO with extensive consultation and input from hundreds of global experts, including people directly affected by meningitis, scientists, country representatives, and civil society organisations like MRF. Five interconnected pillars of work have been developed to achieve the Road Map’s visionary goals:
- Elimination of bacterial meningitis epidemics;
- Reduction of cases of vaccine-preventable bacterial meningitis by 50% and deaths by 70%;
- Reduction of disability and improvement of quality of life after meningitis due to any cause.
Countries worldwide have committed to the vision of the Defeating Meningitis by 2030 Global Road Map. In collaboration with WHO, MRF is working with partners and people affected by meningitis to help make that vision a reality.
Further resources
More information on the WHO website:
Read more about our work in pursuit of the Road Map’s aims:
More information on the CoMO website: