A GIFT OF HOPE: UNICEF

AND MOTHER’S DAY

Whether it’s the occasion for aspecial family dinner, or a long-distancephone call from a loved one, Mother’s Dayis a heartwarming holiday. It’s even more-so when your Mother’s Day gift can helpsave a mother’s life.

For the third consecu-tive year, the U.S. Fund forUNICEF and its partner Pier 1Imports are offering a specialMother’s Day gift in supportof the global campaign toeliminate tetanus, a diseasethat kills over 30,000 womenand 180,000 newborns in thedeveloping world each year.

Between April 14 andMother’s Day, May 8, Pier 1will donate $1.20 to the U.S. Fund forUNICEF from each purchase of a Pier 1 GiftCard valued at $50 or more. It only takes$1.20 to provide the vaccine and immunizea woman of childbearing age againsttetanus for up to ten years and protect hernewborn baby from tetanus for the criticalfirst few months of life. Since 2003, Pier 1has donated $91,780 to this program,enough to immunize 76,483 women.

Sending greeting cards is anotherway to support the U.S. Fund’s Mother’sDay program, thanks to the GeneralFederation of Women’s Clubs. In afundraising campaign that debuted last

year, the national women’s organization isdistributing Mother’s Day cards reproducedfrom designs by two of its members andcollecting donations to support the MNTcampaign.

“Visiting the U.S. Fund’s Web site isalso a great way to be a part of UNICEF’sMother’s Day,” said Charles J. Lyons,

president of the U.S. Fundfor UNICEF. “Onwww.unicefusa.org, youcan send your own UNICEFe-card to your mother oranother special mom inyour life. This upbeatanimated card offers awonderful selection ofmessages honoring allmothers for their incrediblecontribution to the health,safety, and development ofthe world’s children.

Personalized UNICEF Tribute Cardsand e-Tribute Cards are another way tocelebrate Mother’s Day onwww.unicefusa.org. “For a contribution of$25 or more in honor of the recipient,” saidLyons, “you can send a message of loveand appreciation. And from now throughMother’s Day, all tribute gifts will go tosupport UNICEF’s fight to end tetanus.

“By keeping UNICEF in mind thisMother’s Day,” Lyons said, “everyone hasthe power to change and improve the livesof mothers and their children. For UNICEF,Mother’s Day is every day.”

A Report from

The Campaign to Save Mothers and Babies from Tetanus

A Report from the U.S. Fund for UNICEF Spring 2005, No. 9

Cards designed by members ofthe General Federation of

Pier 1 gift cards of $50 or more support the fight against MNT.

DEDICATED TO ENDING

MNT: UNICEF’S

GEZAHEGN MENGISTE

Gezahegn Mengisteknows firsthand thattetanus is a silent killer.

“Neonatal tetanus isone of the leading causesof death from vaccine-preventable diseases for

children worldwide,” Gezahegn said fromhis office in Kenya, where he serves asUNICEF’s regional advisor for maternal andneonatal tetanus elimination in eastern andsouthern Africa. “In more than 50 countriesaround the world, neonatal tetanus still takesthe lives of 180,000 newborns every year.But the World HealthOrganization estimatesthat on average only5 percent of neonatalcases are actuallyreported. It’s a silentkiller, and beforeUNICEF and itspartners started theglobal campaign toeliminate tetanus in 1999, many people werejust not aware of the severity of the crisis.

“MNT is a silent killer because nearlyall of the deaths occur in highly remoteareas in the world’s poorest countries, wherethere are few health records and even birthregistration doesn’t exist,” said Gezahegn, afifty-nine-year-old Ethiopian. “So when wework to launch tetanus vaccination cam-paigns, part of our work is to strengthen thecapacity of medical records, introduce orimprove neonatal tetanus surveillance, andhold massive social mobilization programsto educate communities about tetanus.”

Dr. François Gasse, a UNICEF seniorproject officer who is helping to lead theglobal MNT elimination campaign, said,“When we recruited Gezahegn, we knew hehad the experience and dedication to take ona tough job, which meant serving in some ofthe world’s poorest countries where workingconditions are tough, and even dangerous.We tease him and call him the ‘imple-menter,’ because when a government andother partners agree to a national plan ofaction to eliminate MNT, he really stays ontheir back until the job is done. But he’s alsoa very kind person and extremely dedicatedto UNICEF’s mission.”

Gezahegn has worked for UNICEF for16 years and says tremendous progress isbeing made in eliminating MNT from east-ern and southern Africa.

“Due in large part tothe funding provided byU.S. Fund for UNICEFdonors, the number ofcountries in the regionwith high-risk districts forMNT has fallen from 18to 12 since 1999, whileComoros, Tanzania, andZambia are getting closer

to elimination status. Uganda is also doingan exemplary job and is determined toeliminate MNT in the shortest possible time,provided it gets adequate funding,”Gezahegn said. “I work for UNICEF because Iwant to help the helpless and I feel greatabout what we do. In my country, Ethiopia,we are striving to eliminate MNT. However,like other countries, we are faced with ashortage of funding. Since 2001, we havehelped to vaccinate more than 2 millionwomen against tetanus every year. We wantevery woman of child-bearing age to be safefrom this preventable disease.”

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Gezahegn Mengiste

“MNT is a silent killer because nearly all of the deaths occur in

highly remote areas in the world’spoorest countries, where there arefew health records and even birth

registration doesn’t exist.”

immunization. The education sessions erasemany fears and allow female workers to besupportive of each other and push oneanother to get vaccinated.

“There’s a bit of peer pressure,because if they don’t get immunized theythink that they are different from the otherwomen and that they need to do it to be partof the group,” Oo said.

Cambodia has 75health districts, of which29 districts have beenidentified to-date ashigh risk for maternaland neonatal tetanuscases. The Ministry ofHealth and UNICEF andits partners have so far immunized 742,996women — 77 percent of those of child-bearing age in these vulnerable districts.This year, the country is expanding its MNTimmunization program to an additional 13districts, to reach a total of 42 high-riskdistricts.

But the factory immunization programoperates nationwide. This strategy waschosen because the clothing factories, whichare located in cities,employ a lot of youngwomen who come fromthe countryside wheremany of the high-riskdistricts are located.Many of these ruralwomen return to theirvillages when they areready to marry and start afamily. By having alreadybeen immunized in thefactories, they arrivehome protected from thedisease.

The U.S. Fund for UNICEF and theU.K. Committee for UNICEF have helpedsupport Cambodia’s MNT campaign withmore than $1.7 million in funding since 1999.

The success of Cambodia’s factoryimmunization program has prompted othercountries to consider similar strategies.Health officials in Laos are now planning to

immunize women in theirnation’s factories as well.

Cambodian immu-nizers acknowledge thatbecause of the thrivinggarment industry and thelarge female work force itemploys, the factoryimmunization program

has given a remarkable boost to thecountry’s efforts to eliminate MNT.

“The idea of reaching women infactories in Cambodia is relatively unique,”Rodriques said. “In combination with adeveloping health infrastructure, it simplyprovided a unique opportunity at a timewhen creative approaches were needed.”

Total Funds Raised to Date – $83.5 Million

In the last five years, more than200,000 women garment workers

have been vaccinated against MNTin hundreds of clothing factories

across Cambodia. After health workers explained thebenefits of MNT immunization,women at the Tack Fat Garmentfactory encouraged one another tobe inoculated.

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FACTORY WORKERS

MAKE A BEELINE TO

GET IMMUNIZED

Sometimes thinking outside the boxproduces an unconventional way of doingthings that gets great results. That’s whathappened when Cambodia brought MNTimmunization right into the workplace.

In the last five years, more than200,000 women garment workers have beenvaccinated against maternal and neonataltetanus in hundreds of clothing factoriesacross Cambodia, helping the southeastAsian country get closer to eliminating thedeadly disease.

“Immunizing the women who work inthese factories turned out to be one of themore successful elements of the CambodiaMNT elimination campaign,” said BasilRodriques, UNICEF Regional ImmunizationOfficer in the East Asia and Pacific RegionalOffice (EAPRO). “Not only were we able toprovide badly needed health informationmessages, but we were assured of the avail-ability and accessibility of women. More-

over, employers were able to work closelywith the government in the effort to offerthis level of preventive health care.”

Begun in 2000, the factory immuniza-tion program operates in 244 locationswhere 99 percent of the 142,792 women ofchild-bearing age have been vaccinated withthe two doses of tetanus toxoid vaccineneeded to protect them and their babieswhen they become pregnant.

In the last decade, the growinggarment industry in Cambodia has becomeone of the country’s largest employers ofwomen, with a female work force that tops84 percent. The country also has the highestrate of women workers in southeast Asia, at82 percent. Many of these young womenare from the countryside and come toCambodia’s cities and factories in search ofjobs. Most are between eighteen andtwenty-eight years old, a key high-risk groupvaccinators hope to reach and protectduring MNT immunization campaigns.

Initially, factory managers wereagainst the program, fearing that vaccina-tion procedures would take too much timeaway from workers’ jobs. But after talks with

health officials and Cambodia’sMinistry of Health, they agreed totake part.

“They learned that MNTimmunization is not only good forwomen, but is also good foremployers,” said Thazin Oo,UNICEF Health Program Officer inCambodia. “If a woman cutsherself with a rusty item or has anaccident on the job, she’s alreadyprotected from tetanus.“

Before women are inocu-lated, health officers instruct themabout MNT and the benefits of

Global Cumulative # of Women of Child-

bearing Age Protected Against Tetanus

Source: UNICEF/WHO MNT collected data as of April 2005

A factory worker receives atetanus vaccination at the Tack FatGarment Co. near Phnom Penh.

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