Validation of the elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus in Chad
Overview
As of December 2018, Chad was 1 of the 14 countries
for which elimination was yet to be validated. Between
2008 and 2016, core MNTE strategies were implemented:
vaccination of women who were pregnant or of childbearing age (15–49 years) with tetanus toxoid-containing
vaccines (TTCV), clean delivery and surveillance of NT.
Because of challenges to the health systems in Chad, a
high-risk approach to MNT elimination was used, in
which women of child-bearing age in over 100 high-risk
districts were targeted in 3 rounds of supplementary
vaccination with TTCV between 2008 and 2016. A prevalidation assessment by WHO experts in December
2017 showed an incidence of NT of <1/1000 LBs in the
worst-performing districts. The assessment team recommended that a survey be conducted in 1 of the 2 districts
with the highest risk in order to validate MNT elimination in the country.