Salma Hayek Leads Tetanus Campaign 10/3/08

Salma Hayek is leading a new UNICEF campaign aimed at helping young African mums fight tetanus. The actress, a new mum, was so moved by the efforts teenagers are taking to stay healthy on a recent fact-finding mission to West Africa she felt compelled to tell Americans what she had witnessed.

At a press conference for the Pampers' tetanus vaccine program on Thursday (02Oct08), Hayek revealed she was stunned by the efforts being made to eradicate the disease in Sierra Leone, where she also met with tetanus victims.

She says, "One of the things that was very moving about the trip was to see 15-year-old girls, really young, taking responsibility for their lives and their children before they're born by saying, 'I am going to be healthy, I am going to take this vaccination.'

"I had no idea how much this was going to really personally move me." The Pampers powers at parent company Procter & Gamble who are behind the new tetanus initiative have pledged to give UNICEF the money for one tetanus vaccine for every pack of specially marked diapers the company it sells before the end of the year (08).