World Pneumonia Day is celebrated all across the globe on November 12 annually. This day was first commemorated in 2009 to bring issues to light with regard to this condition. As per WHO, pneumonia is the world’s driving irresistible enemy of children younger than 5.
It represents 15% of all deaths of kids under 5 years of age. Pneumonia is respiratory contamination that influences the lungs of the individual. In this condition, the air sacs in one or both the lungs get aggravated. These might be loaded up with liquids or discharge. This lung disease can go from gentle to extreme. Kids younger than 2 years and those over the age of 65 years are at a higher danger of this condition.
World Pneumonia Day History
World Pneumonia Day was set up in 2009 by the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia. Worldwide Coalition against Child Pneumonia is an organization of global, government, non-government, and local area-based associations, exploration and scholarly establishments, and people.
At the point when the first World Pneumonia Day was created, pneumonia was killing approx 1.2 million kids every year. WHO and UNICEF in 2013 delivered the Integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhea. It set an objective of under three kid pneumonia deaths for every 1000 live births in each country by 2025.
The International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) delivered the pneumonia and Diarrhea Progress Report in 2013 and the quickly developing Pneumonia Innovations Network facilitated the Pneumonia Innovations Summit in 2015.
The Every Breath Counts Coalition was additionally established in 2017 which was the primary public-private association to help state-run administrations to accomplish the GAPPD (Global Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhea) focus to lessen kid pneumonia deaths in nine nations.
World Pneumonia Day Significance
World Pneumonia Day is responsible:
- To address the world about pneumonia that accounts for one of the leading infectious diseases responsible for the death in children under 5.
- To promote ways and ideas that protect, prevent, and cure pneumonia.
- To raise awareness of any additional resources that are needed for the solution of the disease.
- Increase action towards fighting off the deadly disease and other childhood diseases.
Symptoms Of Pneumonia
Know the symptoms of this malignant disease before it’s too late. Early detection of symptoms is of utmost importance in battling pneumonia. Some of its symptoms include:
- High fever and chills or sweating
- Coughing out mucus
- Difficulty in breathing while performing day to day chores
- Pain in the chest, especially while coughing
- Loss of appetite
- Increased heart rate
- Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
- Headache and fatigue
Causes Of Pneumonia
Pneumonia is caused by bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The most common infectious agents include:
- Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib): This accounts for the second most common form of bacterial pneumonia.
- Streptococcus pneumonia: Children are seen to suffer the most from this kind of pneumonia.
- In viral infections, the respiratory syncytial virus is the most common cause.
- Pneumocystis jiroveci is responsible for causing HIV in infants. This type of pneumonia affects at least one-quarter of pneumonia deaths in infants suffering from HIV.
Prevention of Pneumonia
Apart from getting vaccinated, this is what you can do to prevent pneumonia:
- Kids should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months.
- Engage in a well-balanced diet that includes vitamin A, and zinc.
- Maintaining proper hygiene and cleanliness.
- Controlling body weight.
World Pneumonia Day Facts
- In the year 2017, pneumonia was responsible for killing 808,694 children, which was 15% of all deaths under 5 years of age.
- Pneumonia can be due to an infectious agent like fungi, bacteria, or viruses.
- Pneumonia caused by bacteria can be cured by antibiotics.
- Air pollution is one of the leading causes of pneumonia in adults.
- Around 158,176 children died in India due to pneumonia under the age of 5 in the year 2016, according to the John Hopkins Center of Public Health report of 2018.
- Pneumonia was responsible for claiming the lives of 2.5 million people, which comprised 672,000 children in the year 2019.
