Vaccines have become a common tool to prevent infections, with many deadly diseases kept under control by a programme of childhood immunisation. In developed countries, such health programmes normally include vaccination against the bacteria Streptococcus pneumonia. Severe pneumococcal diseases – primarily pneumonia and meningitis –...
Dr Robert D Newman was appointed director of the World Health Organization’s Global Malaria Programme in July 2009. From 2000 to 2009, he held a number of posts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States of America, including deputy...
Pregnant women are being given a drug that rich countries would no longer allow to prevent their HIV infection being transmitted at birth to their baby. Yet the United Nations still counts this as success - and in so doing, puts mothers and children's health...
The World Bank through its fund for the poorest countries, International Development Association (IDA), has agreed to disburse $49.3 billion to combat poverty and spur growth in the poorest nations. The funds will support some 79 countries over the next three years, focusing on financing infrastructure,...
Have you checked out foreignassistance.gov yet? It’s kind of a big deal. It may seem like just another government data website to jaded Washington types, but it’s actually a big deal for poor people in aid-dependent countries. The new website is commonly referred to as...
Nicaragua recently began a routine immunization program to prevent the deadliest forms of pneumonia only a year after the vaccine was introduced in the developing world. International global health leaders celebrated with the Nicaraguan government over the release of the new pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, according to...
Greetings from Nicaragua! On Sunday, I joined Minister of Health Dr. Sonia Castro Gonzalez, GAVI board member Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez Gonzalez and my colleagues from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and UNICEF to witness the vaccination of the first child with the new vaccine...
Ask any expectant parent and you'll often hear that while pregnancy is a cause of much joy and celebration, the process of childbirth and delivery itself causes anxiety. These concerns are not without some basis, as the risks of complications for both mother and baby...
Children are unambiguously the focus of the millennium development goals (MDGs). They are directly affected by each of the MDG targets, and their wide eyes stare out from the cover of nearly every MDG report. But despite language that puts the child at the centre...
Managua, Nicaragua, 12 December 2010 – A new vaccine which prevents the most deadly forms of pneumonia – the world’s number one killer of children – was introduced today in the routine immunisation programme of a developing country, paving the way to introductions in more...
We all have a role to play in ending pneumonia deaths by 2030
