UNICEF FieldNotes » tetanus

Immunization can help end preventable deaths

Annette Apitz, UNICEF USA — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:35:20 +0000

This week is the first ever World Immunization Week—an international event created to raise awareness about the importance of immunization. Besides the protection that immunization gives against childhood and maternal illnesses, it is also important to vaccinate during an emergency: like a war, a natural disaster, or a refugee crisis. UNICEF is the world’s largest buyer of vaccines for the world’s poorest countries. In 2010, UNICEF supplied 2.5 billion doses of vaccines to 99 countries, and reached 58% of the world’s children. But still, an estimated 1.7 million children died from vaccine-preventable diseases in 2008 before reaching their fifth birthday.

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A personal connection at Kiwanis Council

Kate Weber, UNICEF USA — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:07:01 +0000

Recently, I was honored to join our colleagues from Kiwanis International at a special event during the 2012 Kiwanis International Council in New Orleans that included more than 250 global Kiwanis leaders. UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Geeta Rao Gupta was the keynote speaker at a special fundraising dinner for The Eliminate Project. It was fascinating to learn of Ms. Rao Gupta's background and how it has informed her life’s work to address the social injustices suffered by women and families.

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Rhodes family pledges $1 million to The Eliminate Project

UNICEF USA — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:20:15 +0000

Our family has committed a pledge of US$1 million to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to fight MNT to save and protect thousands of children like Dani. We believe The Eliminate Project is our calling and could not find a better reason to stretch ourselves and give. We are honored to be asked to get involved and excited to commit our own resources to support Kiwanis and UNICEF's partnership to eliminate MNT.

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Door to door in Cambodia to eliminate a killer disease

UNICEF USA — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:20:06 +0000

I participated in a fascinating site visit to this Southeast Asian nation earlier this month with members of Kiwanis International. Kiwanis has joined the U.S. Fund, UNICEF and other partners to help eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) in Cambodia and around the globe, and this trip gave us a chance to witness a UNICEF-supported immunization campaign that is helping make this vital goal a reality.

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UNICEF in Yemen, trying to balance the bad news

Jen Banbury, UNICEF USA — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 09:50:42 +0000

If you've heard about Yemen at all recently, the news likely hasn't been good. Two suicide bombings last month-likely the work of Al-Qaeda-killed 25 people in the north and terrified a region already battered by unrest. Despite a ceasefire, clashes between militants and government forces in the northern region of Sa'ada continue to displace thousands of people. And last year's thwarted Christmas day underwear bomber received training in Yemen.

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The last mile: fighting MNT in Uganda

UNICEF USA — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:03:26 +0000

Tetanus vaccinations at church? That's what "health care delivery" can look like when you're at the very last mile of eliminating a disease.

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Introducing The Eliminate Project

Caryl M. Stern, UNICEF USA President and CEO — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:30:11 +0000

A momentous journey is beginning. Tetanus, a preventable disease, has plagued mothers and their newborns throughout history. But today we are taking a huge step towards making it history.

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Mission Possible in Uganda

UNICEF USA — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:40:39 +0000

I wonder if this is a typical awakening for the local UNICEF staff, Joanna Nikulin and Atsuko Watanabe and their small team, who are stationed in Karamoja, a 9 hour drive on rough roads from Kampala. Lately the drive has been prone to attack. Just a couple weeks ago, an IRC convoy was ambushed, and the driver and passengers of one of the vehicles were shot to death.

We flew here.

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“Seeing” the possibility of eliminating maternal-neonatal tetanus

UNICEF USA — Wed, 19 May 2010 11:31:46 +0000

Cayce Pack is an intern in the NGO department of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

This week, from the capital of Kigali to the countryside, nearly 4.1 million children in Rwanda will receive a kick start to their chances for a healthy childhood with the help of UNICEF.

Mothers and kids alike will benefit from lifesaving interventions and loads of preventative care as the country celebrates its Mother and Child Health Week. Shots, scores of vitamins, and schooling in proper healthcare will reach all over this central African nation. Yet one particular aspect of the campaign stands out to me: the vaccination of over 300,000 women against maternal-neonatal tetanus (MNT).

A woman grimaces while being vaccinated by a health worker.

Before I started interning at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, I only thought of tetanus when I saw a copy of my own shot records or signed a medical release form. My knowledge of maternal-neonatal tetanus was even more limited. But in the three months I have spent here, I see tetanus with entirely new eyes. When I look at that word, I look at women and children who die needlessly each year from a fatal, yet preventable, disease.

However, I have also come to see hope, which is a feeling I never thought I would equate to a disease that I once assumed only occurred if you stepped on a rusty nail. As I have witnessed through our proposal submission to Kiwanis International's Worldwide Service Project and our constant support of UNICEF's campaigns, we have the opportunity to virtually eliminate maternal-neonatal Tetanus in the 42 countries it affects most.

MNT, which most often comes from unsanitary birthing conditions, claims the life of one infant every four minutes around the world. Yet through simple immunization campaigns like that in Rwanda this week, MNT can be virtually stopped. The magnitude of what Rwanda will accomplish in one week speaks volumes of what UNICEF can achieve in coming months. As we gain momentum to continue this work around the world, I am "seeing" the reality of tetanus being rid from the globe.

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An opportunity to change the world with Kiwanis

Caryl M. Stern, UNICEF USA President and CEO — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:41:51 +0000

Recently, I had the privilege of joining a delegation from the U.S. Fund for UNICEF in Houston, Texas, for a meeting with Kiwanis International regarding our proposal on maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) elimination for Kiwanis' next Worldwide Service Project (WSP).

We met with senior members of Kiwanis leadership and were excited to share our vision for what a Kiwanis-UNICEF partnership could look like. After weeks of hard work, the meeting could not have been better. Free flowing discussions were encouraging and enlightening about how the program could evolve. It was exactly the kind of collaborative dialogue that we envisioned when we originally responded to the Kiwanis RFP and we look forward to continued dialogue so that Kiwanis' experience and expertise will enrich the program design.

Our idea of a successful Kiwanis International and UNICEF collaboration is to design a program that would capitalize on the strengths of both organizations and finally eliminate MNT from those countries still suffering.

This is part of Kiwanis' upcoming WSP that, like they did 15 years ago with the campaign to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders worldwide, will save and protect millions of lives and change the world. Right now, UNICEF is one of three organizations that might be fortunate enough to partner with Kiwanis and we are doing our best to create a program that will not only help children around the world but also provide hands on service, advocacy and fundraising opportunities to the Kiwanis Family.

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