United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) hailed the report in World Health Organisation (WHO) Bulletin, which highlighted that pneumonia kills more children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined and that effective interventions exist to prevent and treat pneumonia but the coverage of these interventions remains too low.
Peter Salama, chief of UNICEF Health section said, “Pneumonia remains a significant problem in many countries but in particular in communities with a high rate of under-five mortality, and it places a huge burden on families and the health system.”
“Pneumonia control is therefore a priority and is essential in achieving Millennium Development Goal Four, which calls for a reduction by two-thirds in the under-five mortality rate by 2015,” he added.
The report says that the main causes of childhood pneumonia are poverty, poor household environment like overcrowding, poor hygiene etc and malnutrition.
UN organisations including WHO, UNICEF have urged countries to develop suitable plans for controlling pneumonia thus to help existing newborns as well as to moot programme and strategies to improve survival rate of child.
The key strategies for pneumonia control are:
• Use of vaccines such as measles, pertussis, H. Influenzae and Pneumococcus; • Increase exclusive breastfeeding rates; • Zinc supplementation as part of management of diarrhoea; • Reduction of indoor air pollution; • Proper case management at facility and community level; • Prevention and management of HIV infection, including cotrimoxazole preventive therapy.
WHO, UNICEF and other organizations projected a Global Action Plan for Pneumonia (GAPP) to increase awareness of the disease, to broaden the assistance of confirmed benefit and to develop all-inclusive plan to achieve this.
The UNICEF through its financial aid helps children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. It is also the largest provider of vaccines to developing countries. It supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS.
Source: UNICEF Press Centre
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