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Day 4

A meningitis vaccination for a child in Burkina Faso

Defeat meningitis! Defeat meningitis! Defeat meningitis! Defeat meningitis!

A meningitis vaccination for a child in Burkina Faso
Day 4
Vaccination campaign in Burkina Faso

Bumpy sand tracks lead to the villages in the remote province of Sourou in northwest Burkina Faso. In the rainy season they are flooded and in the dry season they are riddled with potholes. The region on the border with neighboring Mali is structurally weak. Most people here make their living from agriculture. In addition to the widespread poverty and the risk of terrorist attacks from Mali, there is another problem: Sourou and the neighboring provinces lie in the so-called "meningitis belt." In this area south of the Sahara, there is an increased risk of meningitis infections from December to June. The disease breaks out again and again in the area and claims numerous lives. Many people defy the adverse conditions in the province of Sourou and look for ways to reduce poverty and the high child mortality rate in the region. It is not for nothing that Burkina Faso is also called the "land of the upright." Brave women there are fighting together to end violence against girls and women and for more education and medical care. With a lot of passion and patience, they are committed to improving the living conditions of their children and ending meningitis.

Vaccination campaign in Burkina Faso
need
Vaccination of children against meningitis in Sourou, Burkina Faso.
activity
Local NGO ASMED runs campaigns for health prevention and vaccination against meningitis. Health passports are distributed in which the vaccination is documented.
Measurable performance
Number of children vaccinated against meningitis.
Result
Cases of meningitis among children in Sourou Province are decreasing and documentation makes it possible to see when a booster vaccination is needed.
Systemically relevant impact
Improved child health and longer life expectancy through preventive care and reduced child mortality.
background

Meningitis is a life-threatening infectious disease. Meningitis causes inflammation of the meninges of the brain or spinal cord, and thus the covering of the central nervous system. It is caused by viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms. In the Sourou region, a bacterium called Neisseria meningitidis is one of the most common causes of the disease. Like the flu, meningitis is transmitted through human contact (droplet infection). Sneezing, saliva or other bodily fluids from an infected person are enough to become infected. Within a few days, infected people experience severe headaches and neck pain, fever, diarrhea, vomiting and dizziness. Without medical treatment, meningitis leads to severe brain damage within a few hours and can be fatal.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2018), around 30,000 people fall ill in the meningitis belt every year. Many people live in very confined spaces under poor hygienic conditions. Together with the dusty winds in the dry season, this promotes the rapid spread of the disease. In 2010, 12 million people in Burkina Faso were vaccinated against meningitis in a vaccination campaign. According to a recent study, booster vaccinations are required after 8 years, but these have not yet been implemented. Children born after 2010 and those under the age of four are particularly at risk because they are not vaccinated. The state often does not have the necessary financial means and structures to carry out these booster vaccinations.

Sorou Province, Burkina Faso
Day 4 Day 4
The good deed

Thanks to your good deed today, a child in Burkina Faso will receive a meningitis vaccination. As part of a vaccination campaign for children, health passports (similar to our vaccination passports) will be distributed and vaccinations against meningitis will be carried out in 38 health stations in the province of Sourou. The health passports allow parents and medical staff to see at any time when and what vaccinations have been given and when a booster is needed. The campaign informs families about important preventive examinations for their children and teaches them that prevention can prevent serious illnesses and even deaths. To this end, SAIDA works locally with clinics and the women's organization ASMED (Association pour le Soutien aux Mères et Enfants Déshérités), which has been committed to children since 2004 and campaigns against the genital mutilation of girls.

AboutBurkina Faso
Ouagadougou
Ouagadougou
Capital city
19,200,000
19,200,000
Population
1.705
1.705
Gross domestic product per capita per year
Rank 183 of 189
Rank 183 of 189
Human Development Index (Human Development Index)

The Mossi, the largest ethnic group in Burkina Faso, worship crocodiles as sacred. They are seen as lucky charms. That is why a crocodile is depicted on the Burkinabe 1,000-franc coin.
About the organization and further information

organization

SAIDA International eV

website

https://saida.de

Initiative Transparent Civil Society

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Further links