Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus: Priority Countries

Since 2000, 49 countries have eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) — an excruciating disease that kills tens of thousands of infants each year 

UNICEF and its partners have immunized more than 161 million women all over the globe, protecting them and their babies, helping to eliminate MNT in 49 out of 59 countries at high risk for the disease since 1999, including Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Haiti, Kenya, Mali and the Philippines.

By June 2024, the number of at-risk countries had dropped to 10.

MNT remains a public health threat in these 10 countries:

• Afghanistan

• Angola

• Central African Republic

• Nigeria

• Pakistan

• Papua New Guinea

• Somalia

• South Sudan

• Sudan

• Yemen

Unlike other vaccine-preventable diseases, MNT is considered eliminated when there is an annual rate of less than one case of neonatal tetanus per 1,000 live births at the district level. Tetanus is not passed from person to person, but through exposure to Clostridium tetani, a common bacterium that exists throughout the environment in soil and animal feces. 

UNICEF won't stop until every child is protected from MNT. Support UNICEF and partner efforts to eliminate MNT worldwide. Donate today.