a) Trend

Progress made: A notable success. More than a 50% decrease in deaths caused by neonatal tetanus.

470,000 deaths from neonatal tetanus

215,000 deaths from neonatal tetanus

By 2000, 104 of 161 developing countries had eliminated neonatal tetanus and 22 more were close to doing so.

Nevertheless, neonatal tetanus remains a leading cause of neonatal mortality in the poorest parts of the world. Eighteen of the 27 countries that account for 90% of all remaining neonatal tetanus are in Africa.