Maternal and neonatal tetanus eliminated in southwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria

Overview

As of March 2019, 46 of the 59 priority countries (80%) that were targeted for maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination (MNTE) had eliminated this vaccinepreventable disease, which remains a public health problem.

The MNTE initiative, launched in 1989 in response to a World Health Assembly resolution, has resulted in a significant drop in the number of deaths from neonatal tetanus (NT), from 787 000 reported in 1988 to 25 000 in 2018.1 Between 1999 and 2017, an estimated cumulative 154 million women of reproductive age (WRA), i.e. 15–49 years, received at least 2 doses of tetanus toxoid-containing vaccines (TTCV2+) during supplementary immunization activities (SIAs).