Meningitis Now is a national

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

based in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It was formed following a merger between the charities The Meningitis Trust and Meningitis UK in 2013. Meningitis Now is working towards a future where no one in the UK dies from meningitis and everyone affected gets the support they need.

History

Meningitis Trust was a

formed in the

in 1986 to fight

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasion ...

. Meningitis UK was originally called the Spencer Dayman Meningitis Laboratories in memory of founder and chief executive Steve Dayman's son, who died of meningitis and meningococcal septicaemia in 1982, aged 14-months. It was established in 1999 to fund a £500,000 dedicated meningitis research laboratory in the School of Medical Sciences at

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

. Once this project was completed, the charity decided to focus solely on funding research into a preventative vaccine for all forms of meningitis. In 2013, the Meningitis Trust and Meningitis UK merged and the new organisation was renamed Meningitis Now. Medical research is still at the heart of what they do, together with awareness raising and support.

Patrons

Among the charity's patrons are: • Lord Darzi • The

Duchess of Edinburgh Duchess of Edinburgh is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title held by the wife of the Duke of Edinburgh. There have been five Duchesses of Edinburgh since the title's creation. Following the accession of Charles I ...

• Andrew Harvey • Lord Williams of Oystermouth •

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a retiredhttps://variety.com/2024/film/global/ken-loach-retirement-the-old-oak-jonathan-glazer-oscars-speech-1235956589/ English filmmaker. His socially critical directing style and socialist views ar ...

•

Lisa Snowdon Lisa Snowdon
7 May 2001, ''People'' (born Lisa Snawdon; 23 January 1972) is an English television and ...

•

Ian Rush Ian James Rush (born 20 October 1961) is a Welsh former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best Welsh playe ...

MBE • Joanna Trollope CBE •

Denis Law Denis Law (24 February 1940 – 17 January 2025) was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchest ...

•

Joe Swash Joseph Adam Swash (born ) is a British actor and television presenter from London, best known for his role of Mickey Miller in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' and various presenting roles with ITV2. He won the eighth series of '' I'm ...

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.meningitisnow.org/
BBC Radio 4
Health charities in the United Kingdom Meningitis