MATERNAL AND NEONATAL TETANUS

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“1 Pack = 1 Vaccine”
UNICEF & Pampers: Partnering to Save the Lives of Mothers and Babies
The Global UNICEF/Pampers Partnership:
Providing Over 200 Million Life-Saving Tetanus Vaccines
Including Over 30 Million from Pampers North America in 2009
What is UNICEF?
UNICEF has been helping children for over 60 years and has saved more children’s lives than any other
humanitarian organization. The world’s leading international children’s organization, UNICEF does whatever
it takes to provide lifesaving nutrition, clean water, education, protection and emergency response to
children around the world. While millions of children continue to die every year of preventable causes like
dehydration, upper respiratory infections and measles, UNICEF has the global experience, resources and
reach to give children the best hope of survival.
Maternal & Neonatal Tetanus: A UNICEF Success Story
Just a decade ago, Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) was a major
public health problem in 58 countries, responsible for the painful and
needless death of 215,000 newborns and approximately 30,000
mothers every year. The disease mainly affects women who live in
impoverished and remote areas, often beyond the reach of weak health
care systems in developing nations. The availability of an inexpensive
series of safe and effective vaccinations and the use of basic hygiene
techniques during and after childbirth stood between these women and
children and their survival.
In 2000, UNICEF joined with partners in a massive initiative to eliminate
tetanus in these 58 countries. The initiative to eliminate MNT faced formidable challenges -- many of those
most vulnerable to tetanus live in extremely remote areas and vaccinators sometimes must travel for days
by foot, boat, or camel to reach them. But, the results of the past eight years’ efforts have been
extraordinary:
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A dramatic reduction in annual newborn deaths from 215,000 in 1999 to approximately 128,000 in
2004 -- saving 87,000 babies’ lives each year
Over 81 million women of childbearing age and their newborns in some of the world’s most remote
places have been protected against tetanus between 1999 and mid 2008
12 countries and 15 of the 28 states in India have eliminated MNT
Many more countries are very close to eliminating the disease
February 2009
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Pampers and UNICEF: Going the Final Miles to Eliminate the Disease
Pampers’ support of UNICEF through the “1 Pack = 1 Vaccine” campaigns around the world are helping
UNICEF move closer to wiping out tetanus in the 46 countries yet to eliminate the disease. The
Pampers/UNICEF partnership launched in 2006 in the U.K., expanded to Western Europe and Japan in
2007, and expanded to approximately 100 countries in 2008, including the U.S. and Canada. Through
August 31, 2008, Pampers has provided funding for over 100 million lifesaving tetanus vaccines through
the sales of specially-marked Pampers diapers and wipes worldwide, helping bring UNICEF closer to
reaching its goal of eliminating this deadly but preventable disease.
Pampers’ Global Impact: Providing Funding for Over 200 Million Vaccines by June 2011
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pack of specially-marked Pampers
diapers and wipes to help
UNICEF provide one tetanus vaccine
to a pregnant woman or a woman of
child-bearing age in the developing
world.
In North America alone, Pampers’
2009 goal is to reach a total donation
of at least $2.2 million, which will
help UNICEF purchase more than
30 million vaccines.
The tetanus vaccines provided by
Pampers through the global
campaign will impact the lives of
mothers and babies in any of the 46
countries yet to eliminate the
disease.
Through the sales of Pampers products in nearly 100
countries around the world, Pampers will help UNICEF
save the lives of millions of mothers and babies by
providing funding for much-needed tetanus vaccines.
From late 2008 to 2011, with a donation of the cost of one
tetanus vaccine* per pack sold, the global Pampers
campaigns are projected to raise enough money for
UNICEF to provide at least 200 million additional
tetanus vaccines.
In the 2009 North America campaign, which will be
conducted from February 15th to May 1st, Pampers will
donate 7 cents to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF for each
Quick Tetanus Facts:
 Tetanus is caused by bacteria called Clostridium Tetani which
enters the body through open wounds. The bacteria produces
an extremely potent toxin that attacks the nervous system.
 The disease rages through newborns within days of their
exposure to the bacteria and almost always leads to a swift
and painful death. Tetanus has a fatality rate as high as 70 to
100% in some countries.
 In developing countries where women give birth at home in
often unsanitary conditions, they and their newborn babies
are at risk of contracting tetanus — spores can pass through
the umbilical cord when cut, infecting both mother and baby.
 The majority of mothers and newborns dying of tetanus live in
Africa and Southern and East Asia, generally in areas where
women are poor and have little access to health care.
 By being vaccinated against tetanus, mothers and their babies
can be easily protected against this terrible disease.
 Two doses of the tetanus vaccines are recommended for
pregnant women, three doses to all women of childbearing age
in high-risk areas, providing protection for the women for up to
15 years and passing on their immunity to their newborns for
the first few months of life.
 1 tetanus vaccine costs just 7 cents — the amount that
Pampers is donating per specially marked pack sold!
February 2009
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UNICEF in Action: Protecting Fernanda and her Newborn Baby against Maternal and Newborn
Tetanus in Angola
For expectant mother Fernanda, getting prenatal care meant an arduous hike from her village in rural
Angola to the nearest hospital seven kilometers away. Then 29 years old and pregnant for the first time,
she did not get any health consultations or vaccinations. She delivered her baby, a boy, at home.
But within a few days, the new mother’s joy was quickly eclipsed by worry. Looking at her son, she knew
something was wrong. The newborn appeared clenched, his tiny body seemingly wracked with pain.
A panicked Fernanda carried her son for those seven long kilometers to the hospital. Tragically, no one
there could help him. The baby died only a week after his life began. A doctor told Fernanda that her son
had contracted tetanus, a highly lethal disease that can occur when women give birth in a non-sterile
environment.
Grief engulfed her, especially after she learned from hospital staff that tetanus can be easily prevented with
three doses of a vaccine during pregnancy.
Women from Fernanda’s village encouraged her to have another child. When she became pregnant again,
she made that trek to the hospital and got her tetanus shots. UNICEF supports routine immunization of
women and children at the facility. She gave birth to another boy, and this time, her baby was healthy.
Whatever It Takes
Thanks to a UNICEF-supported program, getting tetanus shots and other health services is now a lot easier
for women in Fernanda’s village. Every month, an outreach team of health workers arrives with the
vaccines. With tireless support from health workers and other partners, UNICEF and partners are doing
whatever it takes to eliminate this disease.
*For every specially marked pack of Pampers Diapers and Wipes purchased in the U.S. and Canada, the Pampers brand will donate US$.07 to the
U.S. Fund for UNICEF to help provide one tetanus vaccine to a pregnant woman or a woman of child-bearing age in the less industrialized
world. For more information visit www.pampers.com/unicef, www.unicefusa.org/pampers or www.unicef.ca. UNICEF does not endorse any brand or
product. No portion of the purchase price is tax-deductible.
February 2009
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