World Pneumonia Day
12 November 2011
WHO noted that “World Pneumonia Day seeks to raise awareness of pneumonia as a public health issue and help prevent the millions of avoidable child deaths from pneumonia that occur each year. It is organized by the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia (a network of international, government, non-governmental and community-based organizations, research and academic institutions, foundations, and individuals) to bring much-needed attention to pneumonia among donors, policy makers, health care professionals, and the general public.
Related links
– More information on World Pneumonia Day
– More information on pneumonia
– Fact sheet on pneumonia
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/world_pneumonia_day/en/
The Global Coalition Against Child Pneumonia was established in April 2009 to raise awareness about the toll of pneumonia, the world’s leading killer of children, and to advocate for global action to protect against, effectively treat and help prevent this deadly disease. The Coalition is a global network of more than 125 NGOs, community-based organizations, academic institutions, government agencies and foundations who together provide leadership for World Pneumonia Day, marked each year on November 12 to encourage efforts among donors, policy makers, healthcare professionals and the general public to combat the disease.
http://worldpneumoniaday.org/learn/about-the-coalition/
NIH statement on World Pneumonia Day
Alan E. Guttmacher, M.D., Director, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
November 12 is World Pneumonia Day, a day set aside to raise public awareness of the millions of childhood deaths that pneumonia causes each year and to encourage efforts to prevent and treat this deadly disease. Pneumonia is an infection occurring in one or both lungs, caused by any number of infectious organisms, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi. According to the World Health Organization, pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children under the age of 5. Pneumonia kills almost 1.6 million children each year, more than AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. Childhood pneumonia remains a serious health risk but is less widespread in the United States and other developed countries.
On this World Pneumonia Day, it is important to keep in mind that a major impediment stands in the way of global efforts to prevent childhood pneumonia. In many countries, inefficient, smoky, indoor stoves fueled by wood, charcoal, dung, or coal, are used widely for cooking and heating. The smoke from these indoor fires is a major contributor to childhood pneumonia in much of the world, undermining the vaccination drives and other public health efforts seeking to prevent and treat the disease.
Fortunately, international efforts to replace these inefficient stoves with inexpensive, clean alternatives are now under way. The United Nations Foundation has launched the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, which seeks to create a global market and manufacturing capability for clean and efficient cookstoves and fuels in the developing world…
vaccines and global health :: ethics and policy 