UNICEF [to 6 February 2016]
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_89711.html

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Pneumonia kills half a million children under five in sub-Saharan Africa, UNICEF says as it launches campaign to curb the disease
NEW YORK/ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, 31 January 2016 – UNICEF and global partners launched a campaign today urging African leaders to increase funding for pneumonia interventions and adopt policy changes to strengthen its treatment at the community level. More than 490,000 children under-five died from the disease last year in sub-Saharan Africa…

… Pneumonia kills nearly 1 million children under the age of five around the world, causing more deaths than HIV/AIDS, diarrhea and malaria combined. Progress in the fight against the disease has been slow compared to progress in other leading diseases. Childhood pneumonia deaths have fallen by just 50 per cent compared to an 85 per cent decline in measles deaths, and 60 per cent in deaths from malaria, AIDS and tetanus in the last 15 years. Funding has also remained low: For every global health dollar spent in 2011, only 2 cents went to pneumonia.

The campaign, Every Breath Counts, seeks to raise awareness among leaders, donors and policy makers of the need for increased funding and more adequate policies for pneumonia interventions. Such measures would help:
:: Prevent pneumonia by immunizing children, reducing household air pollution and improving hygiene practices;
:: Protect new born babies from pneumonia though exclusive breastfeeding;
:: Facilitate community access to effective and timely diagnosis and treatment with amoxicillin as well as oxygen for severe cases.

Every Breath Counts was launched during the African Union Summit at the General Assembly of the Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA)…