Nigeria receives 500,000 doses of meningitis vaccine- WHO

Nigeria has received 500,000 doses of meningitis C vaccine to combat the epidemic in the country, the WHO has said.

The doses were sent by the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision, an organisation that coordinates the provision of vaccine during disease outbreak.

The WHO Country Representative to Nigeria, Dr. Wondimagegnehu Alemu, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Friday.

He said the vaccines, funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, have been administered in Zamfara and Katsina States where the disease was most endemic.

Alemu said an additional 820,000 doses of the meningitis C conjugate vaccine donated by the United Kingdom government to WHO was currently being sent to Nigeria.

He said in the last week, the ICG also sent 341,000 doses of the meningitis C vaccine to Niger Republic.

He said over 1,300 suspected cases of meningitis had been found in the region particularly in districts that border Nigeria and in the Niamey region of the country.