Brazzaville hosted the annual Meeting on Meningitis-MenAfriNet, Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT), Yellow Fever, Diphtheria, Typhoid and Measles and Rubella in Africa
Venue: Kintele/Brazzaville (Congo)
Dates: 22 – 25 October 2024
Participants: 200 participants (online included) from 12 Countries of West Africa, supported by facilitators of WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, CDC
Purpose: Main objectives of the meeting included the following
- Contribute to strengthening prevention, preparedness, and response to meningitis, yellow
- fever, diphtheria, typhoid, and measles-rubella epidemics.
- Contribute to the elimination of MNT in Africa and mainly in Nigeria, Angola, CAR, and South Africa
- Strengthen national planning for yellow fever, meningitis, rubella, diphtheria, typhoid, measles and rubella and their implementation.
- Ensure the integration of vaccination into primary health care and universal health coverage
Details: Over the 4 days of the meeting that spanned 16 sessions, 48 presentations were delivered, some online.
The opening and closing ceremonies were all performed on behalf of the UCN Director by Prof Shey Charles, Team Lead for immunization in the African Region.
Specifically, the presentations on diphtheria, typhoid and the integration of health services have been the subject of much discussion as these issues are drawing a lot of attention at the moment.
The debates helped to rekindle the interest in the strategies and actions to be put in place. At the closure of the meeting, a certain number of recommendations with clear dates and implementers (partners or countries) were adopted; they were related to meningitis, measles and rubella, yellow fever, typhoid, MNT, diphtheria, vaccine-preventable disease outbreak response, laboratory and molecular surveillance.
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Authors: Hilaire DADJO (
Photo: Participants at the meeting.