Do you think that everyone deserves the right to live? Do you believe that every person, every child, is worthy of the choice, and the opportunity to enjoy life? Each year, nearly 60,000 women and newborns are thwarted from this very option, life itself. There is a reason for this, a very deadly reason at that. It is called, maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT).
This disease is said to kill one baby every nine minutes, and is a virus that is active in 39 countries around the world. In any of the affected countries, the joy of childbirth could rapidly make a change for the worse. Newborns, tiny, not even old enough to talk or open their eyes, suffer silently. Imagine how hard it is for a mother to watch their child go through such a horrible way of dying, and at such a young age. Now, imagine it the other way around too. A child, so young, but he has to watch, and see his mother die. Many would say that you can’t give up hope, but what if hope was no longer there?
There is so much pain and tragedy, yet hope, is supposed to be the answer. But when you see these babies, these newborns and their mothers, it’s hard to grasp that glimmer of hope. MNT creates an excruciatingly painful way of dying, that guarantees to make anyone’s heart hurt just to watch. The convulsions and extreme sensitivity to light and touch could last up to a period of 3 days. Just think about how upsetting it would be to become a mother, but one who is unable to hold her child and watch him grow up. We can change this, if we work together.
MNT is a disease that is easy to catch, but also equally easy to get rid of; we can help eliminate. It affects the people in countries such as Africa because of the tetanus spores in the soil. Such a disease as this strikes the poorest it can find, the ones who are hard to reach geographically and those who are not given the option of health care. In comparison, it can still be prevented from affecting anyone. All that MNT prevention requires is just three doses of a vaccination that are 60 cents each. If we take charge like UNICEF and Kiwanis have been doing, we can help raise awareness to MNT and put a stop to it around the world.
With the raised awareness of MNT, you can help eliminate this terrible disease from this world. We can be part of the helping hand that can save the lives of many innocent women and newborns. We can provide the comfort and support that the less fortunate hope for. We can be these people’s savior in their time of need. Please, you’re just 60 cents away from helping those who need it. To make the world a better place we have learn to take that one step forward, and take action, starting with ourselves.