The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday presented India the certificate declaring elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus (MTN), caused mainly due to unclean deliveries and umbilical cord care practices.
Until a few decades ago, India had reported 1,50,000 to 2,00,000 neo-natal tetanus cases annually. Now the maternal and neonatal tetanus has been reduced to less than one case per 1,000 live births in all 675 districts. India completed validation of MTN in all 36 States and Union Territories in April 2015, much earlier than the WHO target of December 2015.
“India’s maternal neonatal tetanus elimination (MNTE) success is also a huge tribute to the millions of health workers who often worked under challenging conditions, and undeniably the families and communities who recognised and accepted the benefits of these health services.
“With India’s achievement, almost the entire WHO South-East Asia Region, barring a few districts in Indonesia, has now eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus,” Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region, said after presenting the certificate for MTNE to the Minister here.
However, our efforts cannot stop here, she added given that unlike smallpox and polio, tetanus cannot be eradicated as tetanus spores remain stubbornly present in the environment worldwide.
As the risk of tetanus persists, we need to continue our efforts to ensure that MNTE is maintained — women and children are immunised and clean deliveries and proper cord care activities get a further boost.