Countries across the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region moved to accelerate action against meningitis and advance national plans to strengthen prevention, surveillance, laboratory capacity and case management during a WHO regional peer-review workshop held in Cairo on 17–18 June.

The workshop brought together representatives from ministries of health, national focal points on meningitis prevention and surveillance, public health laboratory specialists and case-management experts from 9 Member States and regional partners to review and strengthen draft national meningitis action plans. Participants exchanged technical feedback, identified gaps and priorities, and agreed on steps to better coordinate and position plans for implementation.

The workshop built on the regional framework for implementing the defeating meningitis by 2030 global road map launched in October 2025. The framework provides a shared direction for countries in the Region to eliminate bacterial meningitis epidemics, reduce deaths from vaccine-preventable meningitis by 70% and improve care and quality of life for survivors.