pneumonia
This is the fourth in a series of commentaries contributed by the Pneumococcal Awareness Council of Experts (PACE). A project of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, PACE is working to ensure that existing safe and effective vaccines for pneumonia—the world’s leading childhood killer—reach all of the children who need them.
Heavy media coverage of the recent MDG Summit in New York has meant that many people who don’t keep close tabs on global health issues are now aware of the realities facing the world’s poorest people. The Summit highlighted the need for many things, including immediate action and a longer-term plan to ensure sustainable access to food, clean water, sanitation, medical care, immunization and housing in the developing world.
From my base in Pakistan, this sums up exactly what we need. The flooding that began in July was the single worst disaster in my country’s history. The statistics are beyond comprehension. The number of people who remain displaced from their homes is roughly equal to the population of Australia. At one point, 20 percent of the country—including more than a third of the province of Sindh—was underwater, with almost 7 million people displaced from their homes. Although this story has fallen off the front pages, the situation remains devastating, the health system in most affected areas destroyed, and for millions of men, women and children, exposed to extraordinary risks of undernutrition and disease.
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This is the third in a series of commentaries contributed by the Pneumococcal Awareness Council of Experts (PACE). A project of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, PACE is working to ensure that existing safe and effective vaccines for pneumonia—the world’s leading childhood killer—reach all of the children who need them.
Growing up in the Philippines, I have seen how improving the health infrastructure can change the landscape of a country. In just two generations, the under-5 mortality rate has fallen nearly two-thirds from 89 per 1,000 to 32 per 1,000, and overall life expectancy has increased by 15 years from 57 to 72.
But although living conditions have risen for many, millions continue to endure the grinding cycle of poverty that forces them to live in squalid conditions. Two years ago, I was able to take a BBC documentary crew to the slums of Manila to demonstrate the tremendous toll that poverty takes, especially on families and children. Crowding, pollution, a lack of clean water and poor sanitation all contribute to a cycle of infection and disease that is nearly impossible to escape.
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This is the second in a series of commentaries contributed by the Pneumococcal Awareness Council of Experts (PACE). A project of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, PACE is working to ensure that existing safe and effective vaccines for pneumonia — the world’s leading childhood killer — reach all of the children who need them.
Dr. Fred Were, photo courtesy of PACE
Working as a pediatrician in my native Kenya, I help both poor children in a crowded and resource-starved public hospital as well as more affluent children in private health facilities. Even within Nairobi, I witness the stark difference in health outcomes between children who can afford to receive pneumonia interventions and those who cannot.
Recent reports by UNICEF and Save the Children highlight this need to ensure we reach the poorest children in low-income countries.
This rallying cry could not be more important. The causes of child mortality also deserve our renewed attention. It isn’t just the fact that the poorest children are too often overlooked, it’s the fact that the reasons they are dying are entirely preventable.
It often comes as a surprise to parents that pneumonia kills more young children than any other disease. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underscored this fact in the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health he released just last month. The need to prevent this disease in order to save children’s lives and reduce overall child mortality around the globe cannot be overstated.
Fortunately, we already know the interventions that work to prevent and treat pneumonia. In addition to exclusive breastfeeding, frequent handwashing, reducing indoor pollution from cooking and smoking, and increasing the availability of antibiotics, there are proven vaccines that provide a lifetime’s worth of protection against the two main causes of pneumonia. Last year in Rwanda and the Gambia, pneumonia vaccines were successfully added to their national immunization programs, meaning that all children — rich or poor — now have access to vaccines.
I am proud that Kenya was approved by the GAVI Alliance to be the next African country to receive financial assistance to purchase and deliver pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, and we expect to begin routine immunization of Kenyan infants by the end of this year. It’s an exciting development that will save tens of thousands of young lives. But funding in most countries remains a serious challenge, and the economic downturn has only increased the financial strain.
While child survival demands a comprehensive approach, World Pneumonia Day on November 12, 2010 is a once-a-year opportunity to raise awareness about the solutions that already exist to defeat the world’s number one killer of children. And you don’t have to wait until then. As the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals approaches, you can join the global dialogue on Millennium Development Goal IV at http://mdg.devex.com/. There is no time like the present to voice your support for fighting for the life of every child, everywhere.
Dr. Fred Were is national chairman of the Kenya Paediatric Association and is a leading member of the Sabin Vaccine Institute’s Pneumococcal Awareness Council of Experts (PACE).
This is the first in a series of commentaries contributed by the Pneumococcal Awareness Council of Experts (PACE). A project of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, PACE is working to ensure that existing safe and effective vaccines for pneumonia—the world’s leading childhood killer—reach all of the children who need them.
Imagine what the developing world could look like if we truly committed ourselves to improving global health. I know from experience that achieving the unthinkable isn’t as impossible as it seems.
When I graduated from medical school in the late 1960s, I joined a small clinic in the Amazon region of Brazil and began vaccinating the children against polio and other childhood diseases.
At that time, only 10 percent of them were immunized. We kept careful records, and even went out in search of children who missed their scheduled immunization appointments.
Over time, our commitment to the kids and the community paid off and every child in the village received all of the vaccines on the national immunization schedule. Our local success meant that the program was expanded to include all of Brazil, and, several years later, we took on all of the Americas.
In several countries, our work was allowed to continue even during times of war by organizing “days of tranquility” when immunizations could take place. Continually we were told that polio could not be beaten. Thankfully we didn’t listen.
Just three decades after I began work in that one small clinic, we had achieved the unthinkable: successfully driving polio out of Brazil. By 1994, the disease was eradicated from all of the Americas. And today, polio is on the verge of being wiped out worldwide. These advances have resulted in tens of millions of people averting sickness, paralysis and death.
We can build upon this success. Today, the world’s leading infectious killer of children is pneumonia, a disease that robs its victims of the ability to breathe and takes the lives of more than 1.6 million children every year. Pneumococcal disease and Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) are responsible for more than 50 percent of life-threatening pneumonia cases in children.
Fortunately safe and effective vaccines exist, but they’re not reaching children in the developing world where more than 95 percent of fatal pneumonia cases occur. This is nothing short of a health crisis, and one that groups like the Pneumococcal Awareness Council of Experts (PACE), a project of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, which I co-chair, are trying to solve with awareness and advocacy efforts in the U.S. and abroad.
The power of vaccines in global health truly is truly miraculous. I’ve witnessed first-hand the ability of childhood immunizations to transform villages, countries and even continents. And fortunately it’s a miracle capable of being repeated. I hope you will watch this space in the coming weeks to learn how you can take part and join us in the fight.
Ciro de Quadros is executive vice president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Co-chair of the Institute’s Pneumococcal Awareness Council of Experts (PACE). This is the first in a series of weekly blog posts by global health leaders associated with PACE.
A month ago we alerted readers to this great opportunity for photographers and writers out there looking to make a difference by capturing pneumonia’s devastating impact. The deadline for the World Pneumonia Day Photography Contest is May 31st– 1 week from today.
Here’s a little more background on the contest, via their website:
The 2010 Photoshare World Pneumonia Day Photo Contest will focus attention on the devastating impact of pneumonia, a disease that claims the lives of 2 million children under five each year. This effort, with support from World Pneumonia Day partner organizations will complement lead up activities to the second-annual World Pneumonia Day on November 12, 2010.
The contest will highlight photography’s vital role in capturing the realities and impact of pneumonia worldwide. Contest images will support Photoshare and international nonprofits using photography to communicate issues related to global health and development.
Contest winners will be evaluated based on topic relevancy and technical execution, selected by an expert panel of three judges including: two-time Pulitzer prize winning journalist and New York Times columnist, Nicholas Kristof, NBC Today Show news anchor, Ann Curry, and an as yet to be determined professional photographer. Submissions will be displayed as part of an exhibit at a prestigious venue in Washington, DC during the summer of 2010.
So all you photographers out there, you have 1 week left to submit your photos. You can do so here.
When individuals and organizations work together, big things can happen. I’ve seen that first-hand as the former director of the Save Darfur Coalition—and I’m starting to see that right now in the fight against the world’s leading killer of children: pneumonia.
Today, the World Health Assembly (WHA) passed a resolution that recognizes pneumonia as the world’s leading infectious killer of children. It also notes that pneumonia is perhaps the biggest barrier in our efforts to reach the UN’s Millennium Development Goal 4—a two-thirds reduction in child deaths—and calls upon policy makers, donor agencies and civil society to accelerate access to proven interventions to fight it. In essence, this resolution serves as the mandate that we’ve needed to demand that immediate steps are taken to fight the world’s deadliest child killer.
But passage of this resolution doesn’t mean we can now breathe easy. All parties have a role to play in implementing this WHA mandate to ensure that swift progress is made to save lives. The time to act is now. Here’s a quick look at what various groups need to do:
Donor countries. While the G8 has prioritized maternal and child health investments worldwide, the collective group is currently $1.8 billion short in meeting current financial commitments to the developing world. G8 leaders must agree at the upcoming June summit to square up these commitments and fund the maternal and child health initiatives that promise to save lives.
Developing countries. Pneumonia is perhaps the most solvable problem in global health; cost-effective efforts to combat the disease have a tremendous bang for the buck. Governments must take steps to ensure that our children have access to lifesaving vaccines against pneumonia’s primary causes, and must prioritize the health system improvements necessary to ensure that early diagnosis is possible, and available vaccines and antibiotic treatments reach families in need.
Industry. The pharmaceutical industry has come a long way in the research and development of vaccines for pneumonia. Today, there are two high-quality vaccines on the market and half a dozen more in development. Pharmaceutical companies must continue this work for developing world populations, and must strive to provide those vaccines at affordable prices.
Caregivers and the medical community. Identifying the disease in its early stages often means the difference between life and death. Caregivers must learn to recognize pneumonia’s telltale signs—such as discoloration and labored breathing—and be prepared to provide immediate medical attention. The medical community, in turn, must work to ensure effective patient management in communities, health centers and hospitals, so infected children get their best shot at life.
Activists. There are plenty of ways to get involved—including taking part in the second annual World Pneumonia Day on Tuesday, November 12. Last year, events raising this issue on the global agenda took place in 39 countries; this year the WHA chose to act. The 2010 effort will only intensify as challenges and opportunities are made clear. I encourage you to visit www.worldpneumoniaday.org to learn more.
Today’s resolution is an important step in what’s been a long fight for awareness, resources, and prioritization of pneumonia prevention—one that WHO and UNICEF estimate could result in a two-thirds reduction in pneumonia deaths by 2015. Now it’s up to all of us to roll up our sleeves and get to work. Together, we can build this movement into a chance at life for millions of the world’s children.
-David Rubenstein, Executive Director, Best Shot Foundation
Kavitha Nallathambi of the International Vaccine Access Center passed along word about this great opportunity for photographers and writers out there looking to make a difference by capturing pneumonia’s devastating impact. The contest comes in anticipation of World Pneumonia Day later this year.
Kavitha has the details:
Would you like to tell the story of pneumonia in your region and win a new Nikon digital camera? We invite you to submit your photos and short narratives related to pneumonia to the first-ever World Pneumonia Day Photo Contest to help spread the word about pneumonia. Finalists from each region will have their work featured at an exclusive Washington DC event this summer as well as on several virtual venues. Judges will include Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times and Ann Curry from NBC’s Today Show. Submissions are due by May 31, 2010. Please visit click here for more details and to participate.
