These guidelines describe the strategies for achieving elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus by the year 2005 and, once elimination is achieved, for maintaining it. They are intended for public health managers at the national and distric levels in countries that have not yet reached the goal and for the organizations that provide them with technical assistance. They will also be useful for development partners that are planning financial or other support.

UNFPA leads a coalition of organizations committed to the prevention and treatment of fistula, an isolating disability that results from unrelieved obstructed labour. This report, from the second meeting of the working group, documents the considerable progress that has been made in bringing fistula to wider attention, in collecting data about it, and in developing strategies to end fistula in the developing world, just as it has been virtually eliminated in industrialized countries.

This publication highlights the importance of the ICPD Programme of Action, the "Cairo+5" discussions and subsequent experience and agreements as we mobilize to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

UNFPA partnered with EngenderHealth to conduct a first-ever study on the occurrence of fistula in nine countries in sub-Saharan Africa (Benin, Chad, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia). The report offers a glimpse of the issue as seen through the eyes of clients who seek services and professional health workers in 35 hospitals where fistula is treated. It highlights the urgent need for equipment, skilled medical staff and surgical supplies in order to meet the high demand for care.