Kiwanis’ current global campaign for children, The Eliminate Project: Kiwanis eliminating maternal/neonatal tetanus, aims to raise US$110 million and save the lives of a 129 million mothers and their future babies. In partnership with UNICEF, Kiwanis is committing by 2015 to eliminating maternal/neonatal tetanus, a disease that kills one baby every nine minutes. By targeting this disease, Kiwanis will not only save lives but also pave the way for other interventions that will boost maternal health and child survival among the poorest, most underserved women and children in the world.

Announced at the 95th Annual Kiwanis International Convention in June 2010, this project will tap into Kiwanis’ global volunteer network and strength in reaching communities and leaders, along with UNICEF’s field staff, technical expertise and unbeatable supply chain to wipe out this cruel, centuries-old disease.

During Kiwanis’ first global campaign for children, the Worldwide Service Project for IDD, members worked to virtually eliminate iodine deficiency disorders (IDD), the world’s leading preventable cause of mental retardation, while raising more than US$100 million. Heralded as one of the most successful health initiatives in the world, today those dollars are at work in more than 103 nations—and the number of households consuming iodized salt has jumped from from an estimated 20 percent in 1990 to more than 70 percent, saving developing nations and the world billions of IQ points.