Ethiopia has become the 42nd country in the world to have validated the elimination of Maternal and Neonatal tetanus, according to a joint press release sent to ENA.
“Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination in Ethiopia is hereby validated!” That was the conclusion of the joint mission from UNICEF and WHO Friday at its debriefing sessions with Ethiopian Ministry of Health, representatives of WHO and UNICEF to Ethiopia.
Ethiopia began accelerated Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination (MNTE) efforts in 1999.
In 2011, all the regions in the country except the Somali Region were validated for MNTE. The 2011 validation mission made recommendations that would see the Somali Region progress to MNTE over time.
The recommendations were implemented especially corrective vaccination campaigns against tetanus in 2016.
The administrative, as well as post-campaign survey data, revealed more than 85 percent coverage in each of the nine zones of the Ethiopian Somali Region.
The Joint validation mission reviewed these and other related and concluded that maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination had been achieved in the Somali Region and, by extension, in the whole of Ethiopia.
Receiving the good news of the validation, State Minister of Health, Dr. Kebede Worku exclaimed that “The country had worked hard on improving Maternal and Child Health services delivery with tangible results including the record attainment of MDG 4 three years ahead of the target year of 2015”.
He said that the ministry of health will continue to sustain this gain by integrating maternal and child health care services with other public health priorities.
WHO Representative, Dr. Akpaka A. Kalu, congratulated the country and said that “WHO is grateful for this remarkable result."
He added that WHO will continue to support the Ministry to sustain this achievement by prioritizing risk areas for public health interventions that need more support and interventions through specifically targeted strategies with active community involvement to achieve the desired results. (ENA)