Raining Hope in Africa

In Seattle, where PATH is headquartered, few people are happy about another rainy day. But when there is rain in the forecast for Burkina Faso, it is a great reason to celebrate. There, and in other nations of sub-Saharan Africa’s “meningitis belt,” the rain is a sign of hope, a sign that the deadly meningitis season has passed, at least for now.

As of this week, I am pleased to say that a new, first-of-its-kind vaccine will offer the region year-round hope for protection from epidemic meningitis.

On 6 December, the governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger became the first to launch nationwide vaccination campaigns with a landmark new conjugate vaccine developed specifically to address meningococcal meningitis A, the pathogen responsible for most epidemics in the region. This month, 20 million people ages 1 to 29 will receive a single dose of the vaccine, called MenAfriVac™. Over the next five years, given sufficient funding, MenAfriVac will reach another 250 million people across 25 countries, ensuring widespread protection against a brutal illness that kills 1 in 10 who become sick and leaves one-quarter of survivors deaf or severely debilitated.

The impact of this vaccine is noteworthy: It should provide protection for 10 to 15 years to those who have been immunized and should also block colonization of the disease which, assuming population coverage is high (>80%), will protect those who are not immunized. It has the potential to eliminate the threat of epidemic meningitis to the 450 million people at risk in the meningitis belt.

(Photo: schoolgirls celebrate the launch of MenAfriVac in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso)

 
Equally noteworthy is how the vaccine came about. In less than 10 years, PATH and the World Health Organization (WHO), through a partnership called the Meningitis Vaccine Project, have gone from having just a goal to developing an affordable and effective solution.

Supported by funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a developing country vaccine manufacturer was found, the Serum Institute of India Ltd that could produce a vaccine for less than US$ 0.50 per dose, the price African public health officials told us they could afford. Under an innovative model, PATH acquired the raw materials from the serum and from a Dutch biotech partner, tapped into the vaccine technology from the US Food and Drug Administration, and then transferred the technology to the Serum Institute for manufacture.

After rigorous testing and regulatory hurdles, the Serum Institute received WHO prequalification for the vaccine in June. And, just six months later, MenAfriVac is already on its way to protecting millions.

A lot of people told us it could not be done – but we did it, thanks to a unique model of public-private partnership. Today, in Burkina Faso, even though the dry season has begun and the rains are still months away, there is a reason to celebrate.

Christopher J. Elias

 

Editors Note
Christopher J. Elias, President and Chief Executive Officer, PATH (Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health), USA;
Social Entrepreneur; Schwab Fellow of the World Economic Forum

PATH has developed and distributed innovative, practical and cost-effective technologies to 100 countries in the areas of reproductive health, vaccines and immunization, AIDS/HIV, tuberculosis, and children’s health and nutrition.

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