The Northern Region currently has just one meningitis case on admission at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, marking a significant improvement compared to previous years—particularly during the heat season when cases usually surge.

Between November 2024 and March 2025, the Northern Region recorded only eight cases of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM)-with no fatalities reported.

Of the eight cases, seven patients have been treated and discharged, while the remaining case—a nine-month-old child—is still on admission at TTH.

During a working visit by the Acting Director-General of the Ghana Health Service on April 9, it was revealed that only seven out of 16 districts in the region reported meningitis cases—representing a significant improvement from previous years.

Speaking during the presentation, the Deputy Director of Public Health at the Regional Health Directorate, Dr. Hilarious Abiwu, assured that there is no cause for alarm regarding the current situation.

“As far as meningitis is concerned for the northern region, the picture we are seeing for the three or four years now doesn’t give us any cause for concern, but it doesn’t mean we should be complacent.

“We are increasingly seeing declining numbers of even suspected cases of meningitis in the region. If you look at 2024, for instance, we recorded about 12 cases the whole year. So, technically, on the average, every month, we had one person developing meningitis, and even with these people, we haven’t lost any life, they were all treated and discharged”.

Dr. Abiwu, however, raised concerns about operational challenges, particularly the lack of a dedicated funding source for routine public health activities.

He cited the withdrawal of support from USAID as a major gap that needs to be addressed urgently.

“We’re not working in a vacuum, and we need to work with other agencies to achieve results, and all this requires financial resources. But we don’t have a dedicated funding source. Some of this funding was coming from USAID, and this has gone off the radar for now, and so we have to figure out how to fill that gap“.

In an interview with Channel One TV, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Prof Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, emphasized that while the numbers are down, Ghanaians should not become complacent, as meningitis remains a threat in some areas.

“We’ve been following the incidence of meningitis in the country and visited all the regions within the meningitis belt, and we believe that it is not over, and we don’t want people to start thinking it is over. We need to create more awareness so that people don’t lose sight of taking precautions“.

Dr. Abiwu further stressed the importance of early medical intervention when meningitis symptoms appear, as it significantly improves the chances of recovery.

As part of his visit, the Director-General engaged with District Directors of Health Services and Medical Superintendents and also visited the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) to explore deeper collaboration with health professionals, all in a bid to enhance healthcare delivery in the Northern Region.