A vial of pneumococcal vaccine. Pneumonia kills
more children
under the age of 5 than any other disease.
Photo by: Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
|
Few people in the developed world would
ever guess that pneumonia kills more children under the age of 5 than any other
disease. This serious respiratory infection takes the lives of nearly a million
children each year, with the vast majority of these deaths occurring in
developing countries.
World
Pneumonia Day on Nov. 12 reminds us of the urgent need to
reduce health inequity around the world to ensure that no child dies from
pneumonia or other vaccine-preventable disease.
As
deputy CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance — a
public-private partnership focused on saving children’s lives in the poorest
countries — I am proud to say that since 2000, with the help of our many
partners, Gavi has supported the immunization of more than 47 million children
against pneumococcal disease. This has helped to almost halve the number of
deaths caused by pneumonia.
This
comes as part of a broader push that has taken global immunization coverage to
an all-time high while cutting child mortality in half. By driving down vaccine
prices and increasing access to immunization in the world’s poorest countries,
Gavi and its partners have immunized more than half a billion children,
preventing 7 million deaths in the process.
But
our job is far from finished. More than 19 million children
still miss out on the most basic package of vaccinations for common diseases
each year, making them vulnerable to disease and death.
In
the case of pneumonia what is needed is not major advances in technology, but
access to that technology in the form of vaccines. Children are dying because
health systems are weak and those who are most at risk are often not being
reached with basic health care, including preventive interventions such as
vaccines and treatments that they so desperately need when ill.
Access
to vaccines is a fundamental human right and one of the most effective ways to
protect people from disease and avert illnesses. For children living in the
most remote places — whether urban slums, dense jungles or refugee camps —
vaccines are often quite literally a lifeline.
Sadly,
many of these children are still not being reached, which is all the more
tragic given they represent the poorest and most vulnerable children in the
world, and those who are most likely to be exposed to the pathogens that cause
diseases like pneumonia and diarrhea.
Scaling up coverage
Increasing
access to vaccines against childhood killers like pneumonia will increase
protection rates in the world’s poorest countries and will, in turn, avert
billions of dollars in treatment costs and productivity losses. A scale-up in
pneumococcal vaccine coverage until 2020 has the potential to save nearly 3
million lives and prevent 52 million cases of illness.
Controlling
childhood pneumonia does not just mean reaching the hardest to reach children
with vaccines. Immunization often acts as a powerful platform to offer an
integrated bouquet of primary health care services, in particular for women and
children.
Overcoming obstacles
I
have personally been struck by the ability of vaccination services to transcend
barriers of physical infrastructure and reach children in community settings
through a system of regular and reliable outreach sessions. Notwithstanding the
absence of “bricks and mortar” health facilities, determined frontline health
workers travel long distances to deliver vaccines to children in nontraditional
settings — such as under a tree. Many even use this opportunity to offer a
range of additional maternal and child health services including
supplementation, deworming, weighing of babies, contraception and nutritional
counseling.
The
public health impact of vaccines is further bolstered when accompanied by
complementary interventions such as messages around WASH — water, sanitation,
and hygiene. Fortunately, many of the interventions targeted at pneumonia also
help control other childhood diseases, such as diarrhea and malaria. These
interventions should be part of a comprehensive approach to child survival and
immunization sessions offer an ideal platform for integrated services.
An integrated approach
Last
year, as part of the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of
Pneumonia and Diarrhea — an integrated approach to preventing and treating
pneumonia and diarrhea — Bangladesh, India and Zambia piloted comprehensive
programs aimed at ending the two major preventable causes of child death.
The
GAPPD approach includes adequate nutrition, exclusive breastfeeding during the
first six months of a child’s life, hand-washing with soap, safe drinking water
and sanitation, treatment with oral rehydration solution, antibiotics and zinc
as well as immunization.
This
idea of bringing together critical health services and interventions to create
the healthiest possible environments for children is not new, but it is
urgently needed in many parts of the world. This is especially true as the
poorest and most deprived children often suffer from myriad deprivations,
multiple illnesses and conditions all at the same time — substantially
increasing their risk of death, disease or disability.
The
benefits of integrated health systems and pneumonia immunization are clear:
healthier children and families, better education outcomes for vaccinated
children, lower health care costs, increased productivity, stronger economies
and thriving communities.
It
is a blessing that in wealthier countries, children have access to the vaccines
and health systems necessary for them to become healthy, self-sufficient
members of society. Let’s work to ensure that children everywhere regardless of
their circumstances get the prevention and treatment that they deserve.
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