MNT

The term Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) is quite unheard of. It’s one of those negative events in life that everybody would rather turn a blind eye to and hope it never happens to them or their family. However, MNT is all too real- especially in a country with a high birth rate like India.

India accounts for nearly 22% of infant mortality figures worldwide.  About 138,600 children under five die in India due to various factors such as improper delivery, infection or malnutrition. Of these, nearly 200,000 deaths were caused by the contraction of tetanus by either the mother or the child within the first month of birth.

Armed with a resolve to put an end to these preventable deaths, the government set a lofty target to get MNT eradicated by December 2015.  Some of the steps taken to prevent MNT were practicing hygienic deliveries to ensure no diseases were contracted in the labour process; immunization of women with the help of TT vaccines; proper incision of the umbilical cord to ensure that it doesn’t get infected and thereby infect the infant. The government also promoted institutional deliveries through the social sector scheme National Rural Health Mission, which was mainly focused on the poor.

By August 2015, almost 6 months before its projected deadline, the country declared less than one recorded death due to maternal and neonatal tetanus per 1000 births, adding it to the list of MNT-free countries by UNICEF and WHO.

With India’s tremendous achievement in eliminating a very persistent disease from a 1.27 billion-strong population, almost the entire South East Asian region has eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus.

The WHO, however, has cautioned that celebrations might be premature. “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 immunized and clean deliveries and proper cord care activities get a further boost,” said Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO regional director for SE Asia.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised sustain efforts of keeping India MNT-free by launching the world’s largest immunization drive – ‘Mission Indradhanush’. He plans to increase the rate of increase in immunization from just 1 percent a year currently to more than 5 percent and achieve 90% coverage or more by 2020.

~Vishal Upadhayay, FYBA