[women-rights] Afghanistan launches immunization campaign to save women and their new-borns

UNICEF Press Release
President Pledges Full Support to Ensure Success

KABUL/NEW YORK, 31 January 2003 - UNICEF today announced a week-long 
campaign to immunise thousands of Afghan women against tetanus as part of a 
global campaign to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus by 2005. Running 
from February 2-8, health workers and volunteers aim to reach some 740,000 
Afghan women aged 15 to 45.

The campaign has been launched with the enthusiastic backing of President 
Hamid Karzai. In a televised address he appealed to women to ensure that 
they receive the vaccination.

"Protecting Afghan women against maternal tetanus is one of the simplest 
but most effective ways of making inroads into the country's horrific 
maternal mortality rate - currently one of the highest in the world," said 
Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF. "Together with other basic 
interventions in women's health, the tetanus toxoid (TT) vaccine has the 
potential to save the lives of thousands of Afghanistan's women and their 
new-born children.'

A recent study by UNICEF and the US Centers for Disease Control and 
Surveillance revealed that almost half of all deaths among Afghan women 
aged between 15-49 are a direct result of pregnancy and childbirth. The 
study found that about 1,600 women die for every 100,000 live births in 
Afghanistan. In remote Badakhshan Province, which recorded the highest 
Maternal Mortality Ratio to be documented anywhere in the world, it was 
found that 26 per cent of neonatal deaths are due to neonatal tetanus.

This week's campaign breaks new ground in the administering of the TT 
vaccine in Afghanistan. For the first time in the country, vaccinators will 
be using the new Uniject device. This pre-filled needle and syringe can be 
administered by non-medical personnel, such as traditional midwives, thus 
enhancing the country's ability to reach women in remote communities who do 
not have access to health centres and clinics. Previously the vaccine had 
to be administered only by trained health personnel.

During the week-long campaign -- the first of three to be held in 2003 -- 
over 1,000 vaccination teams will fan out across the cities of Kabul, 
Kandahar, Jalalabad and Mazar. The campaign is conducted by the Ministry of 
Health and jointly supported by UNICEF and WHO, with active support from 
NGO partners. The Japanese Governmen is contributing TT vaccines, AD 
syringes and safety boxes for Jalalabad, Kandahar and Mazar.

Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus

Neonatal tetanus is a deadly disease and remains a major killer of infants 
in the developing world. Up to seventy percent of all babies that develop 
the disease die in their first month of life. It currently accounts for 8 
per cent of all neonatal deaths -- some 200,000 infants every year 
globally. 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.

Globally, tetanus is responsible for 5 per cent of all maternal deaths. In 
2001 alone, it killed 30,000 women. It is caused by contamination from 
tetanus spores through puncture wounds, and is linked to unsafe and 
unhygienic deliveries.

These deaths can be avoided if women at risk are protected with tetanus 
toxoid vaccine and hygienic birth practices are observed during labour and 
delivery.

UNICEF is working in partnership with WHO, UNFPA, PATH, Basics and Save the 
Children to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus by 2005. So far the 
MNTE Initiative has received major donations from the US Fund for UNICEF 
and other UNICEF National Committees, the Government of Japan, Exxon, 
Ronald McDonald House Charities, Gates Foundation and Becton Dickenson.

Note to Broadcasters:
Video b-roll documenting measles immunization in Afghanistan is available. 
Please contact your nearest UNICEF National Committee or Regional Office 
and ask for Afghanistan Back-to-School and Children's Health (2002) B-roll. 
To read the script and shotlist.

For further information please contact:
Mohammad Jalloh, UNICEF Media,
New York (1-212) 326 7516, mjalloh@unicef.org
Chulho Hyun, UNICEF Media,
Kabul Mobile: +93 702 78493 (International), 0702 78493 (Local)
chyun@unicef.org