Partnerships avert 15,000 neonatal deaths

Malawi, Namibia and Zimbabwe will soon join the list of countries which have eliminated neonatal tetanus, which is responsible for at least 200,000 infant deaths in the developing world each year. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday that international intervention and partnerships had saved at least 15,000 newborn babies from tetanus deaths in 2001. "Reducing deaths from neonatal tetanus is one of the simplest and most cost-effective means to help reduce the high neonatal and infant mortality rates in many developing countries, particularly in under-served communities," UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said in a statement. Neonatal tetanus, eliminated in the industrialised world as far back as the 1950s, accounts for 14 percent of all neonatal deaths in the developing world, the statement said. About five percent of all maternal deaths - or 30,000 a year - could be attributed to tetanus. "Maternal and neonatal tetanus is common in poor countries, mostly affecting populations with little or no access to basic health care services and education," Bellamy said. "With effective immunisation and safe delivery techniques no woman or child should die from tetanus. But we need the political commitment and financial resources to translate our programmes into action to eliminate the disease." According to UNICEF, up to 70 percent of all babies who develop the disease die in their first month. "It 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. "The disease usually presents itself on the third day after birth, causing the baby to stop feeding due to stiffness of the jaw muscles. The baby then goes into painful convulsions, coma and eventually dies," the UNICEF statement said. Bellamy said that with effective immunisation and safe delivery techniques, no woman or child should die from tetanus. Money and the political will were needed, however, to fight the disease.