The Ministry of Public Health and Population on 9 October launched a maternal and neonatal tetanus vaccination campaign, targeting women of childbearing age in 13 of the country's 21 governorates.
The six-day campaign, carried out in cooperation with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), is targeting more than 1.7 million women and young girls aged 15-45, including pregnant women, according to Deputy Minister for Primary Health Care Majid al-Gunaid.
He said the campaign also covers internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Hajjah. The targeted governorates are Sanaa, Dhamar, Mahweet, Shabwah, Raimah and al-Mahrah, while in Taiz, al-Beidha, Abyan, Amran, Hadhramaut and Mareb selected districts were covered. The rest of the governorates were covered by a similar campaign in 2008.
Micro plans for a campaign in Saada will be developed upon completion of a World Health Organization review of functioning health facilities, available health workers and population figures, according to Geert Cappelaere, a UNICEF representative in Yemen. (Saada Governorate was the scene of several years of intermittent fighting between al-Houthi rebels and government forces until a ceasefire in February 2010.)
UNICEF has provided 3.4 million doses of vaccine to be administered nationwide by 2,508 health workers in stationary facilities, and 7,116 health workers in mobile teams; 1,142 supervisors will monitor the campaign’s execution, said Cappelaere.
"In a country such as Yemen, where 77 percent of births take place at home and 93 percent of maternal deaths are as a result of home delivery complications, this campaign is crucial if we are to make any gains in reducing infant mortality and improving maternal health," Cappelaere said.
According to Cappelaere, the true extent of the tetanus death toll is not fully known since many deaths of newborns happen at home and therefore go unreported. "UNICEF estimates that in 2000, 7 percent of global neonatal fatalities were caused by tetanus, with the fatality rate between 70 and 100 percent. Because of the uncertainty about the death toll, the disease is sometimes called ‘the silent killer'," he said.
Deputy Minister al-Gunaid said his ministry is working hard to eliminate tetanus to contribute to the achievement of Millennium Development Goal Three, which requires reducing the under-five mortality rate by two-thirds by 2015. The official, however, doesn't have an exact figure on the number of tetanus cases in the country.
Poor awareness
Yemen officials say poor health awareness among citizens is one of the key challenges faced in the efforts to vaccinate women.
Thousands of women in rural areas refuse to take the vaccine fearing it might cause sterility, Ali al-Khawlani, a medical worker, told IRIN from Dhamar Governorate.
Rashida Nesairi, head of the Women and Children’s Unit at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, told IRIN that deliveries at home are usually unclean and unsafe, and therefore mothers are exposed to a high risk of maternal tetanus.
"More health education programmes are required to help mothers, particularly those in remote areas, know about the right practices of clean and safe delivery at home," she said.
Local council members and around 2,020 mosque preachers in the targeted districts will help raise awareness among women about the importance of the vaccine, and encourage them to go the vaccination sites, according to ministry officials.
According to UNICEF, tetanus develops when the bacterium Clostridium tetani infects a cut or a wound. Unclean delivery or abortion practices can result in maternal tetanus, while neonatal tetanus occurs when an infant’s umbilical cord is cut with a non-sterile instrument. Symptoms of tetanus among newborns include spasms and tightening of muscles in the newborn’s jaw and neck and, in later stages, in the back and abdomen. The tightening of the jaw prevents the infant from breastfeeding and, ultimately, breathing.
ay/at/cb
The six-day campaign, carried out in cooperation with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), is targeting more than 1.7 million women and young girls aged 15-45, including pregnant women, according to Deputy Minister for Primary Health Care Majid al-Gunaid.
He said the campaign also covers internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Hajjah. The targeted governorates are Sanaa, Dhamar, Mahweet, Shabwah, Raimah and al-Mahrah, while in Taiz, al-Beidha, Abyan, Amran, Hadhramaut and Mareb selected districts were covered. The rest of the governorates were covered by a similar campaign in 2008.
Micro plans for a campaign in Saada will be developed upon completion of a World Health Organization review of functioning health facilities, available health workers and population figures, according to Geert Cappelaere, a UNICEF representative in Yemen. (Saada Governorate was the scene of several years of intermittent fighting between al-Houthi rebels and government forces until a ceasefire in February 2010.)
UNICEF has provided 3.4 million doses of vaccine to be administered nationwide by 2,508 health workers in stationary facilities, and 7,116 health workers in mobile teams; 1,142 supervisors will monitor the campaign’s execution, said Cappelaere.
"In a country such as Yemen, where 77 percent of births take place at home and 93 percent of maternal deaths are as a result of home delivery complications, this campaign is crucial if we are to make any gains in reducing infant mortality and improving maternal health," Cappelaere said.
According to Cappelaere, the true extent of the tetanus death toll is not fully known since many deaths of newborns happen at home and therefore go unreported. "UNICEF estimates that in 2000, 7 percent of global neonatal fatalities were caused by tetanus, with the fatality rate between 70 and 100 percent. Because of the uncertainty about the death toll, the disease is sometimes called ‘the silent killer'," he said.
Deputy Minister al-Gunaid said his ministry is working hard to eliminate tetanus to contribute to the achievement of Millennium Development Goal Three, which requires reducing the under-five mortality rate by two-thirds by 2015. The official, however, doesn't have an exact figure on the number of tetanus cases in the country.
Poor awareness
Yemen officials say poor health awareness among citizens is one of the key challenges faced in the efforts to vaccinate women.
Thousands of women in rural areas refuse to take the vaccine fearing it might cause sterility, Ali al-Khawlani, a medical worker, told IRIN from Dhamar Governorate.
Rashida Nesairi, head of the Women and Children’s Unit at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, told IRIN that deliveries at home are usually unclean and unsafe, and therefore mothers are exposed to a high risk of maternal tetanus.
"More health education programmes are required to help mothers, particularly those in remote areas, know about the right practices of clean and safe delivery at home," she said.
Local council members and around 2,020 mosque preachers in the targeted districts will help raise awareness among women about the importance of the vaccine, and encourage them to go the vaccination sites, according to ministry officials.
According to UNICEF, tetanus develops when the bacterium Clostridium tetani infects a cut or a wound. Unclean delivery or abortion practices can result in maternal tetanus, while neonatal tetanus occurs when an infant’s umbilical cord is cut with a non-sterile instrument. Symptoms of tetanus among newborns include spasms and tightening of muscles in the newborn’s jaw and neck and, in later stages, in the back and abdomen. The tightening of the jaw prevents the infant from breastfeeding and, ultimately, breathing.
ay/at/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
Share this article
