Three stories of impact - how grants ignited member activity on World Meningitis Day 2024

World Meningitis Day has always been a pivotal moment for raising awareness about meningitis, but in 2024, thanks to worldwide efforts, the reach and impact were greater than ever before.  

In 2024, CoMO introduced the World Meningitis Day Advocacy Fund: a new grant of up to £3,000 to be spent on activities to promote awareness of meningitis on this global health day on 5th October. The fund, set up as a pilot project, was designed to support deserving projects with significant potential reach, impact and results. The grants were awarded to six CoMO members. In this blog, we focus on the incredible projects completed by three of them: Concern Health Education Project (CHEP) in Ghana, Care and Development Centre (CADEC) in Nigeria, and John B. Grimes in the USA. Each of these case studies showcases how the World Meningitis Day Advocacy Fund allowed members’ advocacy work to spread even further. 

Ghana project puts meningitis on the national agenda  

Concern Health Education Project’s activities in Ghana focused on raising awareness and promoting national recognition of meningitis. They developed the concept of an expert committee on meningitis, which included representatives from civil society organisations, academia, people with lived experience of meningitis, faith and women’s groups, and the Ministry of Health.  

This committee aims to provide advice to public health decision-makers, advocate for improved prevention, and monitor the implementation of the World Health Organization’s Global Road Map to Defeat Meningitis by 2030. They also recruited vaccine champions and reached millions through radio.  

The Advocacy Fund provided CHEP with the confidence to engage policy at the national level and work with the Ministry on a win-win approach. CHEP is now seeking additional funding to fill all the roles on the expert committee and make it fully operational. 

Golf event spreads meningitis awareness in USA 

For World Meningitis Day 2024, John B. Grimes hosted the first Texas-based “Shots 4 Meningitis” event at Topgolf. This event, organised in collaboration with Bob Werner from the Becky Werner Meningitis Foundation, expanded Bob’s previously successful event formula to a national stage. 80 people attended from multiple states, raising critical awareness about meningitis, its prevention, and the importance of vaccination. 

Shots 4 Meningitis increased meningitis awareness in the broader local area, reaching 300,000 people via radio advertising and 46,600 via Instagram and Facebook. John is already planning for 2025, aiming to make the next event even bigger and better. 

Health worker training makes change in Nigeria 

Care and Development Centre collaborated with the Rivers State Ministry of Health and the ministries of two neighbouring states, Abia and Bayelsa, to deliver specialised training to 30 health workers. This training covered the types, causes, and epidemiology of meningitis, signs and symptoms, the burden of the disease within Nigeria, and the role of community-level health communication in preventing the disease. 

The training recipients gained the knowledge and confidence needed to identify the early signs of meningitis and report suspected cases. This will make them invaluable assets in preventing future meningitis outbreaks. The Advocacy Fund allowed CADEC to demonstrate a model for effective health worker training, which they hope will be replicated across Nigeria. 

The work funded by the Advocacy Fund has helped World Meningitis Day reach more people than ever before. From national-level collaborations in Ghana to specialised health worker training in Nigeria and community engagement through sport in the USA, these case studies demonstrate the power of collective effort in raising awareness and preventing meningitis. 

The great news is that the success of the pilot year means we will be continuing with the same grants scheme in 2025. The 2025 World Meningitis Day Advocacy Fund will open on 20th May. All current CoMO members will receive more information about the opening of the 2025 Fund by email very soon.

To read more about all the inspiring work CoMO members did through the World Meningitis Day Advocacy Fund, read the case studies here.