• Ashia Kizilay’s family bought a cheerleading gym to fulfil her dream, but she died from meningitis shortly afterward.
• Her mother, Carol, is advocating for free meningitis vaccines, highlighting the disease’s rapid and deadly nature.
• A memorial walk and scholarship have been established in Ashia’s honour to raise awareness and support.

Sixteen-year-old Ashia Kizilay was a “phenomenal athlete” with a life of cheerleading ahead of her.

But a week after getting her dream job as a coach, she died of meningitis.

Almost one year on, her mother Carol Kizilay and Ashia’s cheerleading friends and colleagues are now fighting in her memory to raise awareness of just how sudden and deadly the disease can be.

Carol says she hopes Ashia’s death will also be a catalyst for re-examining whether free vaccinations against the deadly disease should be funded for all.

Meningitis is caused by meningococcal disease, a bacterial infection that can also cause blood poisoning. The most high-profile of them is meningococcal B, which disproportionately affects children under the age of 1, and young adults.

Pharmac funding currently covers vaccination for infants, and also for young people between the ages of 13-25 who are moving into or are in their first year of being in close living situations – like university halls, boarding schools or military barracks.

Ashia, who was living at home in Napier, was not eligible for a funded vaccine when she died.

Carol said her daughter was beautiful and also kind, caring and funny. Before she turned 7, she chose cheerleading as her sport and flourished.

She said her daughter’s dedication led to her representing New Zealand in the under-18 age group three times during her 10 years in the sport.

“I’m still in awe of all that she achieved in her short time here. She truly was a phenomenal athlete.”

In December 2023, Ashia and her family bought Bay City Cheerleaders gym in Napier, the same gym Ashia started her cheering career at in 2014.

The family took over classes at the end of January 2024.

Almost immediately afterward, Ashia fell sick.

Carol took her to a doctor. After returning home from the doctor with a diagnosis of influenza, Ashia’s condition deteriorated.

She died suddenly of what Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora later confirmed as meningitis on February 4, 2024.

“She got to live her dream for one week. It was so unfairly taken from her,” Carol said.

Carol said she strongly believes vaccination against meningococcal disease should be free to all.

However, when she asked a health official in Napier what it would take to get vaccinations funded “even just partially”, she said she was told there were so few cases of meningitis each year and so few deaths, funding “wouldn’t be looked at”.

According to the Institute of Environmental Science and Research, between January 1 and August 31, 2024, there were 28 cases of meningococcal disease reported in New Zealand and one death in a young adult aged between 15 and 19.

“Our daughter was one of the ‘so few deaths’. Actually, she was the only death last year,” Carol said.

“That ‘one death’ has left a hole in our hearts that will never heal. That ‘one death’ has taken the joy and happiness out of every day. That ‘one death’ isn’t enough to get funding.

“It’s so, so unfair, and I know there will be many more to come.”

Health NZ confirmed to Hawke’s Bay Today another person had died in Hawke’s Bay since the beginning of 2025 as a result of meningococcal disease.

Carol said if you were ineligible to get the vaccine, it was “not cheap”, as it cost about $400 to get both vaccines and a booster, which covers the person concerned for three to five years.

She said there was also a lack of communication about it.

“Most people I’ve spoken to think their children are covered for life [once they’re vaccinated]. They’re not.”

Pharmac director of pharmaceuticals Geraldine MacGibbon said she felt deeply sorry for Aisha’s whānau and offered her heartfelt sympathies.

MacGibbon said Pharmac had received funding applications for both meningococcal B and ACWY vaccines for adolescents and young adults not in close living situations.

“These have been ranked on our ‘Options for Investment’ list.

“Please be assured that Pharmac takes all vaccine funding applications seriously, no matter how few cases there are.”

MacGibbon said some people who were at a higher risk of developing meningococcal disease were also eligible for free meningococcal vaccines.

“This group includes people who are close contacts of meningococcal cases, people who have previously had meningococcal disease, and people who have reduced immune function.”

The full eligibility criteria for the meningococcal vaccines are available to view on the Pharmaceutical Schedule.

In the meantime, to honour Ashia’s memory, Carol has set up a memorial wall at the gym and a scholarship in Ashia’s name that covers the recipient’s cheerleading expenses for the year.

“We started this as we know how much Ashia loved to help others, and it is our way of giving back in honour of her.”

Sophie Bates (left) and Zoe Hawkins pose with a picture of their friend Ashia Kizilay, who died from a meningitis infection in February 2024.

Ashia’s cheerleading friends Sophie Bates and Zoe Hawkins also want to help.

The pair have organised a memorial walk for Ashia in Napier on Sunday, February 2.

The event, called the Ashia Kizilay Memorial Walk For Meningitis, is open to everybody and aims to encourage people to donate to the Meningitis Foundation New Zealand Aotearoa.

Bates believes more people in New Zealand need to know about the dangers of the disease.

“I don’t think there’s enough noise made about it for how obviously deadly it is,” she said.

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and spent the last 15 years working in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin and Napier. He reports on all stories relevant to residents of the region.