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World Pneumonia Day: This Epidemic Is The Deadliest Child Killer

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Pneumonia is the world’s deadliest child killer, with a “forgotten epidemic” claiming one young life every 39 seconds. International health and children’s agencies gave this warning on Tuesday, 12th November 2019 in a statement to mark World Pneumonia Day.

 

The disease is preventable but still kills more children than any other infection. In 2018 alone, it killed over 800,000 children under the age of five.

 

In a joint statement for World Pneumonia Day, Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF, said:

“Every day, nearly 2,200 children under the age of five die from pneumonia, a curable and mostly preventable disease.

 

“Strong global commitment and increased investments are critical to the fight against this disease… Only through cost-effective protective, preventative and treatment interventions delivered to where children are will we be able to truly save millions of lives.”

 

The numbers make grim reading and compare with 437,000 under-fives dying last year due to diarrhoea and 272,000 to malaria.

 

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Five countries accounted for more than half of the child pneumonia deaths. They include the following:

  • Nigeria (162,000)
  • India (127,000)
  • Pakistan (58,000)
  • the Democratic Republic of Congo (40,000)
  • Ethiopia (32,000)

 

Bacteria, viruses or fungi can cause pneumonia. It then leaves children fighting for breath as their lungs fill with pus and fluid. Children with weakened immune systems and those living in areas with high levels of air pollution and unsafe water are most at risk.

 

The disease can be prevented with vaccines and is also easily treated with low-cost antibiotics if properly diagnosed.

 

Kevin Watkins, the chief executive of Save the Children UK, also said:

“This is a forgotten global epidemic that demands an urgent international response.

 

“Millions of children are dying for want of vaccines, affordable antibiotics, and routine oxygen treatment. The pneumonia crisis is a symptom of neglect and indefensible inequalities in access to health care.”

 

Meanwhile, in January 2020, the agencies will host world leaders in Spain at the first-ever Global Forum on Childhood Pneumonia.

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