After 20 years under the umbrella of the Organisation de Coordination et de Coopération pour la lutte contre les Grandes Endémies (organization for coordination and cooperation against major endemic diseases), the Centre de Recherche sur les Méningites et les Schistosomoses (the meningitis and schistosomiasis research center) has been placed under the Niger Ministry of Public Health. It has become the Centre de Recherche Médicale et Sanitaire (medical and health research center) and thus keeps its acronym, CERMES. In 2008, CERMES became a full member of the Institut Pasteur International Network. Its main research interests include meningitis, malaria, and interactions between health, environment, and climate. CERMES also works in the areas of public health and health training. Here, 12 years after the creation of the new CERMES, we present its main research results, as well as the challenges and opportunities it faces.
Keywords: CERMES; Institut Pasteur international network; Niger; malaria; meningitis; public health; training.