# 5956
Tomorrow (Saturday, November 12th) is the 3rd annual World Pneumonia Day, where its founders, and allied public health agencies, hope to raise awareness of this often-preventable disease.
From the CDC’s MMWR of Nov. 4th:
World Pneumonia Day --- November 12, 2011
Weekly
November 4, 2011 / 60(43);1477Pneumonia kills more children than any other illness; among approximately 9 million children aged <5 years who die each year worldwide, 1.6 million die from pneumonia (1). At the 2010 World Health Assembly, a resolution on the prevention and control of childhood pneumonia was passed (2). The resolution stated that leaders in each country should implement comprehensive plans to reduce pneumonia deaths. This effort will support United Nations Millennium Development Goal 4, which states that childhood mortality should be reduced by two thirds from 1990 to 2015 (3).
Illness and deaths from pneumonia can be reduced with the use of Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), influenza, and measles vaccines; antimicrobial treatments; and supportive health care, among other strategies.
To raise awareness of the effects of pneumonia globally, the third annual World Pneumonia Day, November 12, 2011, is being promoted by a coalition of approximately 120 major health, humanitarian relief, advocacy, faith-based, government, and other organizations; CDC and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) are providing technical assistance. Events are scheduled around the world. More information is available at http://worldpneumoniaday.org.
Leading the charge in this campaign is The Global Coalition Against Child Pneumonia which describes itself as “a global network of more than 125 NGOs, community‐based organizations, academic institutions, government agencies and foundations.”
You’ll find numerous resources, including a list of #WPD2011 events, and the 2011 Progress report on the World Pneumonia Day website. There is even an animated version of the progress report (see below).
The complete 2011 Progress Report (PDF) is available here.
