PATH highlighted on Good Morning America

ABC News will feature the groundbreaking new MenAfriVac™ meningitis vaccine and the lives the vaccine is changing in sub-Saharan Africa. The segment will likely air on Good Morning America on Monday, May 30, between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m.

The segment will feature the nine-year effort by the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP)—a partnership between PATH and the World Health Organization—to develop and introduce an affordable vaccine designed specifically for the countries of Africa most at risk of epidemic meningitis. ABC News’ chief health and medical editor, Dr. Richard Besser, traveled to Burkina Faso to profile MVP director Dr. Marc LaForce and spend time with a family whose lives have been deeply affected by meningitis.

Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger launched the first mass vaccination campaigns with the MenAfriVac™ vaccine in December. Today, 20 million people have been vaccinated with the new conjugate vaccine. The vaccine will reach millions more in the 25 countries of the meningitis belt over the next few years, providing widespread protection against an epidemic that has affected communities in sub-Saharan Africa for more than a century.

•  Good Morning America video segment and story on the ABC News website.
• ABC News’ “Be the Change: Save a Life” website.
• Slideshows and stories about the historic launch of the vaccine in Burkina Faso.
• The Meningitis Vaccine Project. 

Updated May 31, 2011.