Europe Regional Members

ACT for Meningitis (Galway, Ireland)
 

Offering meningitis awareness and support across Ireland, ACT for Meningitis was set up in 2011 after its CEO, Siobhan, lost her daughter Aoibhe to the disease. Read Siobhan and Noel’s Story.
 

The organisation provides a range of educational resources, awareness talks and support services for individuals and families affected by meningitis, including counselling and play therapy.

For more information, contact Siobhan Carroll on +353 91 782 828, email ACT for Meningitis or visit the ACT for Meningitis website.

​

​

​

Antimeningokok (Prague, Czech Republic)
 

Andrea Brzobohata founded Antimeningokok in 2012 as a result of her own personal experience of meningococcal meningitis.

Andrea lost both her legs to meningitis C and after years of rehabilitation decided to raise awareness of meningitis in the Czech Republic, and to help other survivors and their families to cope with the after-effects of the disease.
 

Antimeningokok provides information and organises regular events to educate people about the disease. For more information contact Andrea on

+420 602 765 685, email Antimeningokok, or visit their website.

  

​

​

Asociación Española contra la Meningitis (Spain)
 

Asociación Española contra la Meningitis was established in 2016 by volunteers and employees of the Fundación Irene Megías Contra la Meningitis (FIMM) after its closure due to financial difficulties. AEM is very proud to continue the hard work of being THE voice against meningitis in Spain. The support of the Scientific Committee Advisory Group of the FIMM has been fundamental in this new phase.

AEM provides information about meningitis symptoms to raise awareness and promotes vaccinations throughout Spain.
 

For more information, visit the Asociación Española contra la Meningitis website, and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

 

 

​

Association Petit Ange and Association Audrey - Ensemble contre les Méningites (France)
Little Angel Association and Association Audrey - Together Against Meningitis

​

Association Petit Ange and Association Audrey were both established to help, inform, encourage discussion and engage people in meningitis with the hope to raise awareness of the disease across France. They formed the coalition, Ensemble contre les Méningites, working to defeat all forms of meningitis across the country. Specifically, the coalition works to: 
 

• Help families affected by meningitis and often the loss of a child.

• Inform people about meningitis, what causes the disease, the possible outcomes and ways to prevent the disease.

• Encourage discussion about meningitis by sharing personal stories and photos through their Facebook page.

• Engage people to build awareness of the disease at events and through the media.

​​

Visit Association Petit Ange’s website, Association Audrey's website or their joint website for more information. 

  

​

​

Barnplantorna (Gothenburg, Sweden)
 

Barnplantorna is an organisation who supports people with hearing loss, many of whom may have resulted from pneumococcal meningitis.

Barnplantorna encourage early hearing tests, provide information materials, as well as offering a range of services to parents and professionals in child care and education. 
 

In 2007 Barnplantorna successfully lobbied for the pneumococcal vaccine to be included on the National Immunisation Schedule in Sweden.

Visit the Barnplantorna website for more information about this member organisation.

​

​

​

Bekæmp Meningitis (Denmark)
 

Offering meningitis awareness and support across Denmark, Bekæmp Meningitis was set up in 2018 after its Chairman, Ivar, lost his son Hans to the disease. Read Hans’ story here.

​

The organisation provides a range of educational resources and awareness talks and engages in the public debate for a better health system with improved patient safety.
 

For more information, contact Ivar Petersen on +45 26 29 71 06, email Bekæmp Meningitis or visit their website.

  

​

​

Fundacja Aby zyc (Krakow, Poland)
 

Fundacja Aby zyc (‘Foundation to Live’) was established in 2007 after the co-founder’s daughter contacted meningococcal C. It provides information on ways to prevent, diagnose and treat life-threatening diseases that affect the nervous system. Read Andrez’s Story.

The organisation delivers educational programs and campaigns across Poland and provides funding for vaccines to those who cannot afford them. It also helps with the rehabilitation of children after neuro-infections.
 

For more information, contact Anna Szczerbińska on +48 661 397 839, email Anna or visit the Fundacja Aby zyc website.

 

​

​

Group B Strep Support (GBSS) (UK)
 

Group B Strep Support (GBSS) was founded in 1996 and is the leading charity dedicated to eradicating group B Strep infections, including meningitis, in babies. 

​

GBSS supports families affected by group B Strep and their health professionals by providing relevant, evidence-based information and education about Strep B. Their aim is to ensure that every pregnant woman and person is informed about group B Strep as a routine part of their antenatal care, including being offered the opportunity to test for GBS carriage during pregnancy, and being provided with information on signs and symptoms of GBS infection in babies. 
 

For more information, contact Jane Plumb on +1330 120 0796, email GBSS or visit the Group B Strep Support website.

​

Menenjit Gönüllüleri Derneği (Meningitis Volunteers Association - Istanbul, Türkiye)

​

Inspired by his Polish friend (Andrzej Kuczara), Mehmet Gencel started to raise awareness about meningitis in 2017. Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, studies on meningitis were carried out alongside activities both on social media and on the streets.

 

Mehmet built up a team around him, which grew into the Meningitis Volunteers Association. In 2024, they were officially registered as a non-profit association. Most of the team is made up of medical students in Turkey's prestigious universities. They raise awareness among students, on social media and in co-operation with pharmaceutical companies, and their ultimate goal is to see meningitis disappear at the national level.

​

For more information, visit their website or Instagram page, or contact Mehmet Gencel.

​

​

Méningites France – Association Audrey (Écouflant, France)
 

Founded in 2000, Association Audrey was formed following the death of the Voisine family’s 12-year-old daughter to inform people about the first signs and symptoms of the disease and its serious consequences. Read Jimmy and Véronique's Story.
 

Committed to raising awareness of meningitis, the organisation now known as Méningites France – Association Audrey provides training, events, publications and support for other parents and families in France and beyond.

For more information, contact Jimmy Voisine on +33 02 41 37 82 46, email Méningites France – Association Audrey or visit the Méningites France – Association Audrey website.

 

 

  

Meningitis Now (Stroud, UK)
 

Meningitis Now is a new charity, with almost 30 years’ experience, formed in October 2013 by bringing together Meningitis UK and the Meningitis Trust, the founders of the meningitis movement in the UK. It’s a new name but the charity has the same goals.

Meningitis Now is leading the fight against meningitis in the UK. Its vision is a future where no one in the UK loses their life to meningitis and everyone affected gets the support they need to rebuild their lives.
 

The charity provides a powerful, united voice for individuals, families, communities, experts and professionals who know just how devastating meningitis can be.

The charity has six priorities:
 

1. Supporting prevention. To support research that finds new, and enhances existing, vaccines to save lives and prevent disability. Campaigning for the introduction of licensed vaccines as soon as they become available.

2. Making sure no one faces meningitis alone. Over half a million people living in the UK have had meningitis and many thousands of families have been left facing a future without a loved one. Without vaccines to protect against all types, meningitis continues to strike, devastating families across the UK. The charity will continue to reach out to everyone affected.

3. Listen and respond to the needs of people affected. Helping to rebuild futures, listening and responding positively to anyone affected.

4. Reducing the impact of meningitis and fighting for the rights of those affected. Awareness is key – rapid identification of the disease through better education has always been a priority.

5. Raising the funds to deliver its plans. The charity receives no central government funding and needs to raise £4 million each year to carry out its work.

6. Being a united, focused and effective organisation. Being inspired by the individuals and families it works with.
    

For more information about Meningitis Now, visit their website, contact them via email or call their 24 hour UK helpline: +44 0808 80 10 388.

 

​

​

Meningitis Research Foundation (Bristol, UK)
 

Established in 1989, the Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF) is the UK’s largest meningitis research charity. It was set up by a group of parents whose children had been affected by meningitis or septicaemia. 
 

MRF funds research into prevention, detection and treatment of the diseases, promotes education and awareness amongst health professionals and the public, and provides support to those affected. It has funded more than 130 research projects worth nearly £17 million, developed widely used guidelines for treating meningitis and septicaemia in hospitals and a prevention guideline to reduce cases in newborn babies. It also launched the world’s first Meningococcal Genome Library as a free online resource for scientists around the globe.
 

MRF’s Counting the Cost campaign established the true costs on society of those seriously disabled by meningitis – helping to influence the likely introduction of a MenB vaccine in the UK in the near future.

​

For more information email MRF or call them at 0333 405 6262. Visit the Meningitis Research Foundation website.

 

​

Meningokockfonden (Täby, Sweden)

​

Meningokockfonden was founded in 2020 by the mother and father of Mathias Bennborn who sadly lost his life to the disease in 2019 two weeks before turning 18 years old. Read Christine and Mathias’s story.

 

Meningokockfonden is a non-profit organization registered in Sweden. Our vision is a world free of meningitis and sepsis, and our main goal is to raise awareness and spread information to the public about the disease and about the vaccines that are available. The ultimate long-term goal is to get the vaccines into the national vaccination program in Sweden so that meningitis can be defeated.

​

For more information, contact Christine Bennborn on +46 70 266 7160, email the foundation at Info@meningokockfonden.se or visit the Meningokockfonden website. Follow Meningokockfonden on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

​

​

Movimento Italiano Genitori Onlus - MOIGE (Rome, Italy)
 

Movimento Italiano Genitori Onlus is a non-governmental organisation that works to protect and inform parents and families. Currently working with more than 30,000 parents across 30 provinces, it was established in 1997 by a small group of parents who found that they lacked information about parenthood.

MOIGE delivers a diverse range of projects for children, parents and grandparents in schools, cities and malls across Italy.

For more information, contact Maria Rita Munizzi on +39 06 32 36 943, email MOIGE or visit the MOIGE website.

 

​

​

Nederlandse Meningitis Stichting (NMS) (Netherlands)
 

The Nederlandse Meningitis Stichting (NMS) is an organisation run by volunteers to support families who have experienced meningitis, encephalitis and septicaemia.
 

The NMS is dedicated to sharing information and experiences via its website, by distributing brochures, and delivering presentations to medical professionals and the general public to raise awareness of these diseases. They also offer a 24-hour telephone service to support those in an emergency situation.

By giving small grants to science graduates, the NMS supports research into meningitis prevention, diagnosis, treatment and the after-effects of the disease.

Visit the Nederlandse Meningitis Stichting website for more information.

 

​

​

Liberi dalla Meningite (Italy) 

National Committee Against Meningitis
 

In 2011, the parents of two children who passed away from meningococcal disease established the National Committee Against Meningitis. The committee is the first advocacy group in Italy who focuses only on meningitis.

​

The National Committee aims to fight meningitis across Italy by providing information about the signs, symptoms and risks of meningitis as well as information about how to prevent this devastating disease.  The committee also provides support to the lives affected by meningitis.
 

Visit the National Committee Against Meningitis website for more information about this member organisation.

  

​

​

The UK Sepsis Trust
 

The UK Sepsis Trust seeks to save lives and improve outcomes for survivors of sepsis by instigating political change, educating healthcare professionals, raising public awareness and providing support for those affected by this devastating condition. UKST’s critical expertise is based in the charity’s grassroots origins – their doctors and nurses have front line, first-hand experience of the sepsis problem; their passion is born of a uniquely comprehensive understanding of what needs to be done.
 

The urgent need to improve sepsis care in the UK drives the team forward as they continue to work in hospitals while volunteering their time to advance the sepsis agenda.
 

For more information, email the UK Sepsis Trust or visit their website.

​