The Meningitis Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand was established in 2010 by a group of passionate individuals committed to actively reducing and preventing meningitis in New Zealand.
There is a team of six Trustees who make up the Foundation Board and work together to educate and inform our community. They are all volunteers and give their time to the Foundation; motivated by personal experience with meningitis or inspired by the strength of those who have faced the disease.
Claire Rushton
Claire a mother of four and co-business owner with her husband Gerard has been involved with the Meningitis Foundation since 2015 and was appointed as a trustee in 2022. Losing their only daughter Courtenay at age 16 in 2014 to meningococcal meningitis, Claire has a deep insight and empathy to those not only affected but those who lose loved ones to this devastating disease. She is a strong campaigner and advocate for young people, actively involved in raising awareness of vaccines to bring about change at a government level to eradicate meningitis to give her daughter’s life and loss meaning.
Gerard Rushton
Gerard, along with wife Claire, operate successful agricultural businesses in the Canterbury region. Gerard has a 30-year history of community involvement and extensive knowledge and governance experience which has culminated with him holding current positions as Chairman of Mid Canterbury Rugby Union and in 2017 being appointed to the Appointments and Remuneration Committee with the NZRU. Gerard has a real connection with meningitis after losing their only daughter Courtenay in 2014 to meningitis. With extensive connections in sport and business and a commitment to his daughter’s legacy, Gerard’s drive is to enhance the Foundation’s profile and raise awareness of meningitis.
Emma Coultas
Emma is a meningococcal B survivor, who currently works within emergency management and disaster risk and resilience. As a recent graduate from the University of Canterbury, she is a strong advocate for the expansion of the current vaccination programme to include all rangatahi; a group particularly exposed to this deadly disease and facing significant financial barriers to protection. Emma recognises that her mum’s early detection helped save her life, and hopes that by increasing education around the symptoms of meningococcal disease we can protect our wider whānau in Aotearoa New Zealand from its devastating impacts.
Helen Rowlands
Helen was an avid supporter of the Meningitis Trust in the UK following the death of their son, Gareth, to the disease in May 2003. She has appeared on national TV and at numerous events championing the charity and raising awareness of the disease symptoms and living with the after effects. Shortly following her emigration to New Zealand in 2016, her daughter Sian contracted viral meningitis. Fortunately Helen was on hand and instantly recognised the symptoms and rushed Sian to medical care. This double exposure to meningitis has cemented Helen’s passion to educate and raise awareness of the disease throughout New Zealand in the hope that no parent has to go through what she has experienced.
Pete Rowlands
Pete has been supporting meningitis charities since 2003, when his son, Gareth, aged 16 lost his life to meningococcal septicaemia whist at boarding school in the UK. Pete has undertaken extreme challenges including rowing the North Atlantic Ocean unsupported, running a 7 day ultra-marathon event across the Gobi Desert, and supporting a team skiing to the Magnetic North Pole, raising in excess of $600,000.00 for the cause. Since moving to New Zealand, the disease also struck his daughter, Sian, at the age of 32, when she contracted viral meningitis and is still in the recovery process. His passion remains to see a world rid of meningitis and he now brings his 16-years’ experience in supporting meningitis charities to the Meningitis Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand.
Andrea Brady
A communication and public relations practitioner with a background in science and medical research who is passionate about health education and disease awareness. Andrea is one of the founding directors of the Meningitis Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand. As a mum who has worked closely with meningitis families to advocate for policy change and universal vaccination programmes, she is committed to raising awareness of meningitis symptoms, informing and educating our community, connecting meningitis families, and working with the media, community leaders and government to protect our loved ones against this devastating disease.
KEVIN (DINGHY) PATTINSON
Dinghy is no stranger to seeing how preventable tragedies affect families, having headed the Pike River Mine recovery for four years. He also has a connection to meningitis, nearly losing his step-daughter Phoebe to the disease in 2019. Like his own family, many people experience the meningitis nightmare because they are not informed enough, or they are unaware of available vaccinations, or the symptoms are brushed off by medical professionals. He wants to put his relationship building skills and previous board governance experience to use and help promote a greater awareness of meningitis in the public, which in turn will help lead to increased vaccination rates.
Our vision/kaupapa is a world without meningitis
We aim to provide all New Zealanders with access to quality information and resources to assist in the fight against meningitis in Aotearoa, New Zealand and the Pacific.
Seeking to promote the prevention, control and awareness of meningitis, the Foundation is involved in awareness-raising and education activities within the community, and with health and education professionals. The scope of the work is centred on communication and government advocacy, with a firm focus on improving access to vaccines in order to save lives.
While the Meningitis Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand does not provide individual patient support, it does provide an opportunity for families affected by meningitis (mainly pneumococcal and meningococcal meningitis) to connect with each other, and to share their stories to help others by raising community awareness about the disease. Click here to share your story.
The Meningitis Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand operates solely on support from businesses, organisations and individuals across New Zealand.
Please consider supporting our work. We rely solely on the support and donations of members of the public. We receive no government funding and partner with a range of organisations to fund our activities.
The Meningitis Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand strives to educate New Zealanders and raise their awareness of meningitis, promoting its prevention and control by;
Providing timely, accurate and credible information and educational resources to the general public and healthcare professionals.
Providing a forum for friends and families affected by meningitis to connect and share their stories for mutual support and ongoing awareness of the reality of the disease.
Being an active voice to support public health policy and the introduction of further vaccines to high risk groups.
Supporting an increase in vaccination rates to improve New Zealand’s record for protecting children.
The Meningitis Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand is also an active member of the global Confederation of Meningitis Organisations (CoMO) sharing knowledge and resources towards achieving the collective mission to fight meningitis and support survivors.
Part of a Global Network
CoMO currently has 130 members in more than 50 countries, and is organised on a regional basis – The Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia Pacific, making members globally united and regionally enabled in the fight against meningitis and septicaemia.
CoMO is dedicated to:
Eliminating meningitis globally by ensuring families worldwide have access to urgent diagnosis, preventative measures and speedy treatment
Uniting patient groups and child health organisations across the world who are working to eliminate meningitis in their country and region and who provide support to those touched by the disease
Raising the global profile of meningitis, facilitating resource and knowledge sharing between member organisations, and helping to establish patient groups in countries where they do not exist.
For further information about the Confederation of Meningitis Organisations visit the website here
resources
personal stories
donate
