The immunization campaign, spearheaded by the GAVI Alliance, will cover Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan.

“Meningitis takes a terrible toll on the people living in vulnerable parts of Africa every year. It is a painful disease which can kill quickly and often leaves victims with disabilities that will blight their lives,” said Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance, the members of which include the UN World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Meningitis Vaccine Project, amongst a range of other bodies.

The seven countries targeted are vulnerable to seasonal severe outbreaks of meningitis with up to 430 million people at risk from the illness, according to a news release issued by the GAVI Alliance.

“Nobody really understands exactly why just in that region. But every five to seven years there would be an epidemic. There would be hundreds of thousands if not millions of cases. And it would completely drive the economies to a halt,” said Dr. Berkley.

The vaccination drive will ensure those at high risk, particularly children and young adults, are vaccinated by the end of December.

The disease can kill the most severely affected patients within 48 hours and causes brain damage, hearing loss or learning difficulties in 20 per cent of sufferers. The most recent major outbreak, in 1996, saw 250,000 people contract meningitis, of which 25,000 died.

For its 2011-2016 programme, the GAVI Alliance plans to support immunisation efforts in all 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Geneva-based GAVI Alliance is a public-private partnership aimed at improving health in the world’s poorest countries. Since its establishment in 2000, GAVI has financed the immunization of more than 325 million children and prevented more than five million premature deaths.

“Urgent action needs to be taken in critical areas to help stop the spread of this disease,” said the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Luis Sambo. “Governments need to declare an emergency early so as to benefit from the necessary technical and other support of partners. Just as crucial are better surveillance and cross-border collaboration between health authorities.”

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated with the bacterium known as vibrio cholerae. The disease has a short incubation period and produces a toxin that causes continuous watery diarrhoea, a condition that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death if treatment is not administered promptly. Vomiting also occurs in most patients.

In a news release, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that 55,289 cases of cholera have been reported just this year in 15 countries in the region, which have led to 1,109 deaths.

The disease, whose transmission is exacerbated by poor sanitation and hygiene practices, is spreading fast in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, as well as along the Congo River, affecting people in the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and western Niger.

Exceptionally heavy rains have contributed to its spread, as they flood shanty towns in urban centres, leaving many without access to latrines or a clean water supply.

WHO is currently working with governments in the affected countries to ensure an effective response, while UNICEF is supplying equipment, chlorine and medicines, the agencies said.

“Public health measures must become much more of a priority for governments,” said the Acting UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Manuel Fontaine. “We are now seeing children and their families falling prey to a disease that is avoidable.”

Fatality rates in the region can range up to eight per cent, which WHO and UNICEF described as “unacceptably high.” These rates are also 34 per cent higher compared to the same period last year.

Sub-Saharan Africa has continued to enjoy robust growth as it is relatively isolated from the negative factors pulling down growth in most advanced countries, the IMF says in its Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa.

The region is also benefiting from one-off factors such as new natural resource production coming on stream, and recovery from drought and civil conflict in West Africa.

Growth from domestic demand has been relatively self-sustaining thanks to improved economic policies, higher foreign exchange reserves, and lower government debt. Rising levels of investment and consumption -particularly in the service sector- have been critical to growth.

But economic prospects differ across the region. Some middle-income countries -most notably South Africa- are performing less strongly because of their greater exposure to global developments, especially those in Europe.

In contrast, oil producers are projected to record robust growth because of new production coming on stream in Angola, and higher output levels in Nigeria and Chad. Finally, low-income countries are expected to continue enjoying strong growth of around 5½ percent.

In a background study published in the outlook, the IMF highlights the resiliency of sub-Saharan African financial systems. While confidence has been shaken in Europe by excessive government debt and vulnerable banking systems, sub-Saharan African financial systems have, so far, been generally insulated from global financial turmoil.

A second study reviews developments over the past decade in those countries where non-renewable natural resources are an important contributor to exports and government revenue. It considers the role played by natural resources in boosting incomes and the complex problems they present for macroeconomic management.

The outlook is subject to substantial downside risks. Renewed turbulence in euro area financial markets would adversely affect both exports and investment flows across the region. This would slow, but not derail growth in most countries.

A surge in oil prices, stemming from supply shocks, would pose serious challenges for oil-importing countries, squeezing real incomes and adding to external financing needs.