A Kiwanian learns about The ELIMINATE Project
at the Kiwanis International Convention in Las Vegas.

The project selected to be the next Kiwanis World Service Project will be an effort once again with UNICEF, this time to eliminate maternal/neonatal tetanus (MNT), a disease that kills an estimated 60,000 newborns and 30,000 mothers each year.

The new project was announced June 24 at the Kiwanis International Convention in Las Vegas by actress Tea Leoni, who will be the spokesperson for the project, and Kiwanis International President Paul Palazzolo.

The project follows the successful $100 million campaign by Kiwanis and UNICEF to eliminate Iodine Deficiency Disorder from the world.

MNT is caused by a common tetanus spore. If the baby or mother are infected during birth, illness sets in quickly and it's common for the baby to die within 7 days. While the disease is unheard of in most of the world, it's a common problem in 40 countries in the world, in central Africa, India, China and southeast Asia.

MNT is easily prevented by a series of three vaccinations to women of childbearing age, costing roughly US$1.80. The Eliminate Project: Kiwanis eliminating maternal/neonatal tetanus will raise US$110 million over the next five years to fill the funding gap required to provide an estimated 387 million doses of the vaccine.

More information is available on the Kiwanis International web site or from the project's own site.