Emergency Aid against the Epidemic of Meningitis in Rwanda

October 7, 2002

On October 7 (Mon) the Government of Japan decided to implement an emergency aid (to supply vaccine, syringes, etc.), worth approximately 10 million yen, to the Government of the Republic of Rwanda, which is suffering seriously from an epidemic of meningitis.
Since June this year when a patient suffering from meningitis was first found in the prefecture of Butare, in the southern part of Rwanda, the disease has been spreading in the southern and eastern part of the country. By late September, the death toll from the disease reached 119 persons, and the immunization by vaccine has become an extremely important task to prevent the further spread of the disease.
The Government of Rwanda has therefore formulated a vaccination program, and while spending emergency funds to purchase necessary materials on its own, has requested emergency aid from the international community.
The Government of Japan has decided to extend this emergency aid from a humanitarian point of view, taking into account the severity of the epidemic of the infectious disease and the friendly relations between Japan and Rwanda. It will become possible to provide approximately 150,000 doses of vaccination through this aid as an anti-meningitis measure.

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