India officially received certificates from World Health Organisation (WHO), declaring the country yaws and maternal and neonatal tetanus free.
The certificates were presented to Union health minister JP Nadda at the 69th Session of the WHO regional committee for south-east Asia region held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
India is the first country to be officially acknowledged as being yaws-free. India was validated for maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination in April 2015, much ahead of the global target date of December 2015.
The elimination of tetanus as a public health problem means that in India, the annual rate of maternal and neonatal tetanus is now less than 1 per 1000 live births.
“It is a proud moment for India to have achieved these two momentous public health milestones,” said Nadda.
India being yaws-free is also significant as India has achieved this important milestone much before the WHO global target year of 2020.
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