Protecting all against tetanus

Overview

For the first time, this document pulls together in one place all the latest information, recommendations, and strategies that are required to both sustain maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination (MNTE) and broaden protection against tetanus for all people. It is a technical resource that is relevant not only for countries that have already successfully achieved elimination status, but also for those still working towards MNTE.

This guide is intended for use by national immunization programme managers and staff, and immunization partners involved in providing implementation support to countries. The specific objectives of this guide are:

• to describe the strategies and activities required to
1. sustain the elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus, and
2. ensure long-term protection against tetanus for all people;
• to provide up-to-date references on global policy recommendations as well as technical and strategic issues.
• to inform the policy discussions and operational decisions related to tetanus vaccination and sustaining MNTE at the country level; and

This document provides guidance and options to assist countries to decide and plan the policy changes and activities that are needed to successfully sustain MNTE and ensure long-term protection against tetanus for all populations. Chapter by chapter, this guide explains how the core programmatic components for preventing MNT [antenatal care (ANC) vaccination of pregnant women and clean births with skilled health personnel] are interconnected with the implementation of routine tetanus vaccination (for both sexes with booster doses across the life course) to ensure elimination is sustained and that all populations are protected.