Dust and epidemic meningitis in the Sahel: A public health and operational research perspective

Abstract

Now that the health communities attention is increasingly focused on climate-health interactions, it has become essential for health decision makers to better understand the role that climate plays in driving disease burdens and health outcomes (both now and in the future) and the opportunity for integrating climate knowledge and information into health decision-making processes to mitigate the negative and strengthen the positive of climate-health interactions. Here we explore the potential climatic indicators and the climate information needs of relevance to the meningitis prevention and control community engaged in the African 'meningitis belt'.