World Pneumonia Day
The fight to reduce deaths from the single, biggest infectious killer of adults and children has never been more urgent. In 2021, pneumonia claimed the lives of 2.2 million, including 502,000 children, and COVID-19 killed an additional 10 million, according to the Global Burden of Disease. Together, they caused more deaths than any other cause, including heart disease. With climate change continuing to increase the burden of respiratory conditions and the risk of another pandemic of respiratory infection high, there is a pneumonia crisis across the life course placing millions at risk of infection and death.
Tragically, it is the very young and the very old who are at greatest risk. Children living in areas with low vaccination rates and rising malnutrition, and in homes that use polluting fuels for cooking and heating, are particularly vulnerable. Older adults exposed to outdoor air pollution – most significantly from burning fossil fuels – and smoking are also at risk. Almost half of the estimated 1.5 million pneumonia deaths among adults aged over 50 are attributable to air pollution and smoking.
Each year on World Pneumonia Day, Every Breath Counts adds our collective voice to the global call to action by rallying our members. In 2023, we supported the following activities:
- Commitment Progress Roundtable which brought together many of the organizations who made milestone commitments at the 2nd Global Forum on Childhood Pneumonia – more here
- 3rd World Pneumonia Day Conference with the theme “Pneumonia in the Americas” – more here
- Social media campaign with the theme MARKING PROGRESS – more here
Learn about 2024 activities here!
RESOURCES
Logos
- World Pneumonia Day, transparent
- World Pneumonia Day and SDGs, transparent
- World Pneumonia Day, blue
- World Pneumonia Day and SDGs, blue
- World Pneumonia Day, blue, small
Events
- Fighting Pneumonia: An Agenda for Action, Mérieux Foundation and Every Breath Counts
- Restoring coverage of PCV as a priority webinar, International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC)
- Expanding access to COVID-19 services through strengthening health systems in LMICs, EpiC, FHI 360
- Making the case for oxygen: Ensuring continued investment in medical oxygen systems, PATH
- Asia-Pacific Forum on Access and Sustainability of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI)
- Childhood Pneumonia in Kenya, KEMRI Wellcome and Kenya Paediatric Association
Country commitments
- Bangladesh – Government agreed on an unified initiative to tackle pneumonia
- Democratic Republic of Congo: Ministry of Health promised amoxicillin dispersible tablets and medical oxygen for every patient suffering from pneumonia
- Kenya: Ministry of Health launched Integrated Community Case Management Implementation Framework to reduce child mortality by case management of malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea, and malnutrition
- Liberia – Ministry of Health and UNICEF organized one-day event to commemorate World Pneumonia Day
- Nigeria: Jigawa State Ministry of Health committed to procure and supply oxygen therapy in primary healthcare facilities
- Somalia: Minister of Health took on the fight against pneumonia – with awareness raising programmes and vaccination campaigns
Reports
- The Missing Piece: Why the Pandemic is an inflection point for Pneumonia Control, Every Breath Counts
- Pneumonia and Diarrhoea Progress Report 2022, IVAC
- Child Health Spotlights, Save the Children/UNICEF
- Market Access: Access to Amoxicillin Dispersible Tablets, Results 4 Development
Newsletters
- Pneumo-Watch INSPIRING newsletter, Save the Children Nigeria
- Pneumo-Watch INSPIRING newsletter, 2nd edition, Save the Children Nigeria
- Pneumo-Watch INSPIRING newsletter, 3rd edition, Save the Children Nigeria
Key initiatives
- PneumoLight Campaign highlights
- Grant Winner highlights, Mérieux Foundation
- How oxygen matters: Stories of impact across the lifespan, PATH
- Impact of Pneumonia on Older Adults, International Federation on Ageing
Press releases
Articles
- Integrated pneumonia surveillance: pandemics and beyond, Lancet Global Health, Amy Ginsburg et al
- Meeting the moment: The Introduction of PCV in Somalia, Global Health Now
Commentary
- Pneumonia can occur across life’s stages—prevention should too, PATH
- Why we must increase access to lifesaving pneumonia interventions for children, Malaria Consortium
- Our day in Dongobesh… the tragedy of childhood pneumonia, FREO2
- The innovative Oxygen Plant-in-a-Box saves the lives of children suffering from pneumonia, UNICEF
- Unitaid’s work to enhance global access to medical oxygen will contribute towards reducing childhood mortality, Unitaid
- Oxygen is life – Through a consistent flow of medical oxygen, six-month-old Abdulraham is brought back to life, UNICEF
- Boasting medical oxygen supplies in the DRC, Unitaid/WHO
- Oxygen 101: An Explanation of the Oxygen Gap, Assist International
- Getting oxygen to Nejo, Ethiopia, Assist International
- Virtual training is bridging the gap to rural health facilities in Mali, Assist International
New research
- Pneumonia: smarter use of pneumococcal vaccines in humanitarian settings can save lives, LSHTM
- Improving pneumonia vaccine schedule in sub-Saharan Africa could help reduce the spread of disease in infants, UCL et al
- Prevalence of pneumonia and malnutrition among children in Jigawa state, Nigeria, BMJ
- New approaches to diagnosing pneumonia in Malawi, BIOTOPE
Videos
- Oxygen access in Peru, Socios En Salud/Partners in Health
World Pneumonia Day – a decade on
In 2009, a diverse group of committed clinicians, advocates, academics, UN officials, and business people came together to change the way the world responded to pneumonia, the “forgotten killer of children”. When they launched the first World Pneumonia Day in November, pneumonia was killing 1.2 million children each year.
Read our blog post, written by Leith Greenslade from the Every Breath Counts Coalition, to find out what’s changed in the decade since then – the progress that has been made, and the still-daunting challenge ahead.
ARTICLES
Climate change and respiratory health
Climate Change and Respiratory Health, brought together four leading experts – Heather Adair-Rohani from the World Health Organization (WHO), Rebecca Nantanda from Makerere University Lung Institute, Laura-Jane Smith from the British Thoracic Society, and John Sampson from Johns Hopkins University to explore different facets of...
11 December, 2024
Open Letter to The Global Fund Board: Access to medical oxygen
Dear Global Fund Board, The Global Fund must continue its vital work helping eligible countries close the massive gaps in access to medical oxygen that are stymying efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and prepare for the next pandemic. Oxygen is an essential...
19 November, 2024
Medical oxygen and the SDGs
“Apart from oxygen, name one other essential medicine that is a topline treatment for all but one of the conditions targeted by the health SDGs?” This was the focus of the second of three High Stakes Conversations on the role of medical oxygen and global...
09 July, 2024
What do the new Global Burden of Disease estimates tell us about childhood pneumonia?
For the first time since global child mortality statistics have been collected, the end of child pneumonia deaths is in sight. New estimates from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) show that the number of children dying from pneumonia dropped...
21 May, 2024
Medical oxygen and respiratory pandemics
This was the focus of the first of three High Stakes Conversations on the role of medical oxygen and respiratory therapies hosted by Every Breath Counts on 30 April 2024. The event, Respiratory Pandemics and Access to Medical Oxygen, brought together four leading experts on...
12 May, 2024
The promise of reduced dose pneumococcal vaccination for children
Pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of death in children under five and, as a result, the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, or PCV, is one of the most lifesaving vaccines. However, just six in every ten children are protected with PCV well below the global target...
17 March, 2024
