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A recent
campaign run by Pampers
UK to help protect vulnerable
mums and their new babies
against tetanus has delivered
outstanding results.
Today Pampers UK and
UNICEF announced the
results of their joint
campaign to provide tetanus
vaccinations to help
protect vulnerable mothers
and their new babies
against maternal and
neonatal tetanus. The
2 month campaign ran
during November and December
last year in the UK and
has resulted in an amazing
7,461,234 vaccines being
donated to UNICEF. |
Photo by Rebecca Hearfield |
 Photo
by Rebecca Hearfield
|
Tetanus
is still a major global
public health problem
in developing countries.
An estimated 500,000
cases still occur every
year, killing approximately
200,000 young babies
and 30,000 mothers per
year.
The true extent of the
tetanus death toll is
not known since populations
at highest risk of tetanus
tend to live in rural
areas and have little
access to health care
and birth registration.
Many newborns and mothers
die at home and neither
the birth nor the death
is reported. For this
reason, tetanus is often
called the "silent killer." Following
administration of tetanus
vaccine to the mother,
antibodies pass to the
foetus across the placenta
to provide protection
against maternal and
neonatal tetanus for
both mother and baby.
To protect the newborn,
women should receive
at least two doses of
tetanus vaccine at least
four weeks apart, with
the last dose at least
two weeks before delivery. |
For every
pack of Pampers nappies
purchased during the
campaign, Pampers UK
donated the funding equivalent
to one tetanus vaccination
to UNICEF for distribution
to the world's most vulnerable
mothers through UNICEF's
immunisation programmes.
David Bull, UNICEF
UK Executive Director,
said: "UNICEF is extremely
grateful to Pampers
for their investment
in UNICEF's tetanus
immunisation programmes
around the world. Innovative
partnerships such as
this are invaluable
in raising the profile
of this killer disease
and helping UNICEF
to provide the support
needed to save thousands
of mothers' and babies'
lives each year."
Find out more about UNICEF
at www.unicef.org.uk |
Photo
by Rebecca Hearfield |
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