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BD/U.S. Fund for UNICEF     collaboration shows progress     in the battle against MNT In the late 1990's, BD joined with UNICEF, making a corporate commitment to aid in UNICEF's efforts at eliminating maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT), a preventable disease often caused by unclean birthing practices. BD is the U.S. Fund for UNICEF's first and largest corporate supporter of MNT elimination, with a multi-year integrated strategy that includes cash grants, product donations, employee involvement, field visits, matching gifts and promotional support.     MNT, often known as the "silent killer," affects newborns delivered at home under unsanitary conditions in remote villages. Pregnant women are also at risk if deliveries or other medical procedures are conducted in unhygienic conditions. Among the countries targeted are the 27 countries that account for over 90 percent of the cases of MNT reported worldwide.     Substantial progress has been made in the five years since the campaign was announced. In 2000, 220,000 newborns died from MNT, according to World Health Organization estimates. That number has now been reduced by some 70,000 annually. Six countries have been provisionally validated as having eliminated MNT, and in 2005 validation of elimination is expected in another eight countries. To date, 33 out of 57 target countries have implemented activities to eliminate MNT.     41.5 million women of childbearing age have been protected against tetanus so far. BD Uniject prefilled injection devices have been introduced in six countries, including Afghanistan. The BD Uniject device's simplicity and ease of use enabled it to serve as a tool for lay healthcare providers in that country–women who went door-to-door administering the vaccine despite restrictive cultural norms and armed conflict. (The other BD injection device used in the campaign is the BD SoloShot auto-disable syringe.)     BD has donated $4 million in cash and 135 million autodisable injection devices in support of the MNT initiative. The total commitment of $15 million makes BD the largest single corporate donor to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF's MNT campaign. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF reports that it has leveraged BD's cash donation to raise an additional $2 million from other donors.