A major campaign to eliminate neonatal tetanus and measles - two killer diseases of children in Yemen - is under way, according to the Health Ministry’s National Programme for Vaccination (NPV).
The six-day campaign began on 24 January.
The neonatal tetanus campaign is targeting some 2,170,000 women aged 15-45 in 17 of the country’s 21 governorates. Over 15,000 health workers are involved in the drive, which is being funded by the Ministry of Health, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, according to Essa Mohammed, head of the NPV.
Neonatal tetanus is a threat to infants due to a shortage of skilled attendants and/or a lack of sterlised medical equipment used during deliveries, leading to high infant mortality rates, say health specialists.
"Tetanus is a killer. Over 80 percent of children infected with the disease die," Mohammed told IRIN.
Only 20 percent of deliveries in Yemen are attended by skilled midwives and 84 percent of all births take place at home, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) office in Yemen.
The World Health Statistics 2008 report said 61 percent of newborns up to 28 days old were protected against neonatal tetanus in Yemen in 2006. The neonatal mortality rate in Yemen is 41 deaths per 1,000 live births, one of the highest in the Middle East.
There are no exact figures on how many deaths are caused by neonatal tetanus in Yemen, but the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) office in Sanaa said Yemen was among 47 countries in the world which have yet to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus.
NPV head Mohammed said the tetanus vaccine should be given five times to women at child-bearing age in order to immunise the mother (and her future child) against tetanus.
"The fourth dose gives a women immunisation against tetanus for 10 years, but the fifth one makes her immunised for life," he said.
The NPV carried out two campaigns to eliminate neonatal tetanus in April and June 2008. The April campaign covered 73 percent of women, and the June campaign 78 percent of women, according to Mohammed.
"We are seeking to eliminate tetanus by 2010," he said.
Measles
Measles vaccines will be given to 667,630 children aged 1-5 in the governorates of Hadramaut, al-Hudeidah, and al-Mahrah, in the last week of January. The NPV said it had selected these three governorates for the measles campaign as they had seen heavy flooding in late October 2008.
According to Alabd Rubia Bamusa, a health official in Hadramaut Governorate, the measles campaign is being carried out as a precautionary measure to prevent infectious diseases. "During natural disasters, precautionary measures are taken to prevent the spread of infections as people's - especially children’s - resistence becomes weak."
A nationwide campaign is planned to start in the last quarter of 2009 in a bid to make Yemen measles-free. "We aim to eliminate measles by 2009. Measles is a killer in Yemen and 7-8 percent of infected children die [if they contract it]," Mohammed said.
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The six-day campaign began on 24 January.
The neonatal tetanus campaign is targeting some 2,170,000 women aged 15-45 in 17 of the country’s 21 governorates. Over 15,000 health workers are involved in the drive, which is being funded by the Ministry of Health, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, according to Essa Mohammed, head of the NPV.
Neonatal tetanus is a threat to infants due to a shortage of skilled attendants and/or a lack of sterlised medical equipment used during deliveries, leading to high infant mortality rates, say health specialists.
"Tetanus is a killer. Over 80 percent of children infected with the disease die," Mohammed told IRIN.
Only 20 percent of deliveries in Yemen are attended by skilled midwives and 84 percent of all births take place at home, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) office in Yemen.
The World Health Statistics 2008 report said 61 percent of newborns up to 28 days old were protected against neonatal tetanus in Yemen in 2006. The neonatal mortality rate in Yemen is 41 deaths per 1,000 live births, one of the highest in the Middle East.
 We aim to eliminate measles by 2009. Measles is a killer in Yemen and 7-8 percent of infected children die [if they contract it. |
NPV head Mohammed said the tetanus vaccine should be given five times to women at child-bearing age in order to immunise the mother (and her future child) against tetanus.
"The fourth dose gives a women immunisation against tetanus for 10 years, but the fifth one makes her immunised for life," he said.
The NPV carried out two campaigns to eliminate neonatal tetanus in April and June 2008. The April campaign covered 73 percent of women, and the June campaign 78 percent of women, according to Mohammed.
"We are seeking to eliminate tetanus by 2010," he said.
Measles
Measles vaccines will be given to 667,630 children aged 1-5 in the governorates of Hadramaut, al-Hudeidah, and al-Mahrah, in the last week of January. The NPV said it had selected these three governorates for the measles campaign as they had seen heavy flooding in late October 2008.
According to Alabd Rubia Bamusa, a health official in Hadramaut Governorate, the measles campaign is being carried out as a precautionary measure to prevent infectious diseases. "During natural disasters, precautionary measures are taken to prevent the spread of infections as people's - especially children’s - resistence becomes weak."
A nationwide campaign is planned to start in the last quarter of 2009 in a bid to make Yemen measles-free. "We aim to eliminate measles by 2009. Measles is a killer in Yemen and 7-8 percent of infected children die [if they contract it]," Mohammed said.
maj/ar/cb
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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