Tetanus Toxoid (TT) Immunization Campaign

The very low coverage of pregnant women with tetanus toxoid immunization is one of the main causes of high infant mortality in Uttar Pradesh. Through advocacy SIFPSA motivated the UP Health and Family Welfare Department to organize the first ever TT immunization campaign in 2 phases in May and June 1999 covering all the pregnant women throughout the state. It also provided technical assistance in the design and planning of the campaign which also made IFA tablets and ORS packets available to women visiting immunization centres in villages.   In order to standardize the supervision system and make it more effective, tools like data collection formats to identify pregnant women in villages and guidelines and instructions for functionaries at all levels were prepared by SIFPSA. Demand promotion through IEC was also done. Messages for the "Tetanus Hatao"(eliminate tetanus) campaign were developed and art works prepared for banners, leaflets, newspaper insertions, radio jingles and audio messages. SIFPSA also funded gaps in budget availability related to IEC activities. Along with the service provision a concurrent evaluation system was also worked out. A quantitative evaluation was conducted by an external agency, Population Resource Centre (PRC), Lucknow, which showed encouraging results. It brought out that the percentage of pregnant women who received TT shots increased considerably as a result of the campaign. The percentage of currently pregnant women receiving 2 shots of TT increased from 13% before the campaign to 33%. In light of the success of this activity, the Government of Uttar Pradesh decided to repeat the campaign in May-June, 2000 and 2001 with SIFPSA support. The proportion of pregnant women getting 2 shots of TT increased to 58.8% in April-May 2001 and has gone upto 68% in April - May 2002. There after, the campaign was not implemented.