Press Release

Mali envisions being out of the group of 28 countries that have not yet eliminated tetanus
BAMAKO, 15 June2013 The Government of Mali, UNICEF, WHO and other partners launched a campaign in the rural town of Sido in the region of Sikasso to immunize thousands of Malian women against tetanus. The second round of the campaign will run for a week in twenty two high risk districts in the South in the month of June. Health workers and community volunteers will aim to reach some 1 407 000 Malian women aged 15 to 45. The campaign will be extended to the northern part of the country as soon as the security situation allows it. Despite remarkable progress in decreasing child mortality rates, Mali remains one of the six countries in Western African region, and one of the 28 in the world, that have not yet eliminated Maternal and Neonatal tetanus. "Protecting women and newborns against tetanus is one of the simplest but most effective ways of making inroads into the country's horrific newborn mortality rates (176 for 1,000 live births) - currently one of the highest in the world," said Francoise Ackermanns, UNICEF Mali Representative. "Together with other basic interventions in women's health, the tetanus vaccine has the potential to save the lives of thousands of women and their new-born children, she added. Tetanus, which accounts for an estimated seven per cent of all neonatal deaths, is preventable through a simple vaccination. It is the first immunization that a child will ever receive as it is given by vaccinating the mother before she gives birth. During this campaign, over 2,340 vaccination teams will go across the country to vaccine women aged 15 to 45 of age. The campaign is conducted by the Ministry of Health and jointly supported by UNICEF and WHO, and other partners in the field. Neonatal tetanus is a deadly disease and remains a major killer of newborns in the developing world, including Western African and particularly in Mali. Up to seventy percent of all babies that develop the disease die in their first month of life. Neonatal tetanus occurs as a result of unhygienic birth practices, leading to contamination of the umbilical cord with tetanus spores when it is being cut or dressed after delivery. These deaths can be avoided if women at risk are protected with the tetanus vaccine and hygienic birth practices are observed during labor and delivery. UNICEF is working together with WHO, and other partners to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus by 2015 in Mali. ###

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For more information, please contact: Hector Calderon, Chief Communication, UNICEF Mali, Tel +223 75 99 40 89 hcalderon@unicef.org Cindy Cao, Public Information & Media Relations Officer, UNICEF Mali, Tel, +223 75 99 58 46 ccao@unicef.org