Health

Milestone in Fight Against Neonatal Tetanus Announced in Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination Initiative Meeting

Milestone in Fight Against Neonatal Tetanus Announced in Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination Initiative Meeting
Bernadine Racoma

Over 59 countries have declared victory over tetanus, a deadly disease to newborn babies and mothers alike. This landmark achievement in the global fight against tetanus was announced by The Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination Initiative partners on May 15.

Tetanus is preventable and can be eliminated by ensuring that delivery conditions are hygienic as well as umbilical cord practices. And a vaccine has already been developed which can be administered to the mother as a preventive measure. Three doses cost around $2 and the doses are effective in protecting the mother and her future offspring for a five-year period.

Tetanus-free

The following countries are now free of maternal and neonatal tetanus from the efforts of the MNT Initiative and its partners:

In Africa: Burkina Faso, Benin, Burundi, Comoros, Cameroon, Congo, Egypt, Cote d’Ivore, Eritrea, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Liberia, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Togo, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.

In Asia: China, Bangladesh, Iraq, Nepal, Myanmar, Turkey, Timor Leste, and Vietnam

The MNT Initiative

The Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination Initiative, wherein the United Nations is a partner, provides tetanus vaccination in 52 countries. A number of UN agencies are part of the initiative, including the UNICEF and the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund). This international collaboration involves both private groups and public institutions. National governments are involved including the Government of Japan. The WHO (World Health Organization), GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, Save the Children, the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and USAID are partners as well. This program is also funded by Kiwanis International and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. There are many other private funding agencies involved.

The program was launched in 1999 and since then 118 million women have received the vaccine. The vaccination was part of a campaign that also includes interventions for children such as Vitamin A supplements, immunization against measles and tablets for deworming.

A formidable disease

Epidemiological studies have shown that one baby dies of tetanus every nine minutes. The mortality rate of tetanus is high in babies who belong to poor and disadvantaged communities. The disease is usually transmitted when children are born in unhygienic conditions where mothers and children are at risk for life-threatening conditions. Newborn babies contract tetanus when non-sterile equipment is used to cut the umbilical cord.

The estimated annual infant deaths from tetanus in the year 2000 was 200,000 and now it is down to 58,000 a year. The mortality rate increases when appropriate medical care is usually not made available to them.

The work continues

Still, the elimination goal has not yet been reached in 28 countries mainly due to cultural barriers, limited access to communities, differences in priorities, and inadequate funding among other factors. The challenges are formidable and the MNT Initiative continues to work for reaching their elimination targets by the year 2015.

The following countries that are still working on their elimination targets:

In Africa: Angola, Chad, Central African Republic, Congo DR, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Madagascar, Mauritania, Nigeria, Niger, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Somalia, and South Sudan.

In Asia: Afghanistan, India, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, the Philippines, Yemen and Haiti in Central America.

Photo Credit: Neonatal Tetanus

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