The United Nations (UN) and its partners on May 15 announced that tetanus has been eliminated in more than 30 countries at high risk including Vietnam. In a press release, the Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) Elimination Initiative said that despite the progress half the 59 priority countries, some 28 others, have yet to reach the elimination goal due to challenges in medical access, cultural barriers, and funding shortage. The countries that have eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus are in South America, South Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. According to a report of the initiative, since 1999, more than 118 million women of child-bearing age in 52 countries worldwide have been vaccinated against tetanus. Tetanus kills one newborn baby every nine minutes and almost all of these babies are from poor families in the most disadvantaged areas. MNT is preventable through hygienic birth practices and immunization of women of child-bearing age. The initiative is an international private-public partnership that includes national governments, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the GAVI Alliance, USAID/Immunization Basics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Save the Children, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, among others. (vov.vn May 16)
