World Pneumonia Day 2022
In 2022, Every Breath Counts joined forces with the Mérieux Foundation to award 11 civil society organizations small grants to raise their voices and strengthen local engagement in the fight against pneumonia.
From Côte d’Ivoire to Zimbabwe; Bangladesh to Pakistan; Philippines to Uganda; 11 civil society organizations took on the local fight against pneumonia during the 2022 World Pneumonia Day Week of Action. The 11 winners were selected from 60 outstanding proposals as part of the Mérieux Foundation and Every Breath Counts Small Grants Awards to support World Pneumonia Day events that strengthen local engagement in the battle against the leading infectious killer of children and adults.
Most of the populations dangerously exposed to pneumonia live in a group of countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America – including the 11 countries that are home to the winning entries. Their efforts to mobilize communities to educate and empower families, and strengthen health systems to prevent, diagnosis and treat pneumonia, will make a big difference to a disease that is both preventable and treatable.
1. Community Working Group on Health, Zimbabwe
School children, community groups, and health workers took part in marches, music, drama, and dance to mark a World Pneumonia Week of Action in Goromonzi District, Zimbabwe. Local health workers gave talks on how to identify and manage childhood pneumonia in the home and community. A press conference marked the occasion, with calls for improved access to diagnosis and management of childhood pneumonia.
2. ONG Agis, Côte d’Ivoire
Primary school children sent a clear message to children around the country: “protect yourself with pneumonia.” This kicked off World Pneumonia Week of Action under the chapeau of Digital Lung Week – which included a vaccination, awareness-raising, and screening campaign, a Twitter Space broadcast, and a charity evening. The iconic lighthouse in Grand Bassam was illuminated blue as part of the PneumoLight Campaign.
3. Rural Women Development Trust, India
During a World Pneumonia Week of Action, community health workers ran health and pneumonia awareness-raising camps for the hardest-to-reach rural populations in Salem District, Tamil Nadu. A ‘Hospital on Wheels’, with guest physicians, provided health consultations to the communities. Monthly health camps will continue to provide healthcare to these underserved communities – reaching around 5,000 people
4. Hope for Vulnerable Children Association, Cameroon
The children of Cameroon showed the world how to stand up and fight the number one infectious killer of children as part of an impressive roadshow. Children sang, danced, held placards, and recorded video messages to demand action against childhood pneumonia in Cameroon. There were also debates, talk shows, and drama to raise awareness and demystify witchcraft beliefs associated with child pneumonia in the community.
5. Institute of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Bangladesh
More than 1,000 people attended rallies as part of an awareness-raising campaign on pneumonia prevention and management. An advocacy workshop was conducted to sensitize rural medical practitioners on the causes and prevention of pneumonia and treatment procedures. These activities helped to influence the medical profession and health policymakers to include pneumonia control as part of the national health strategy.
6. Alay Buhay Community Development Foundation, Philippines
A pneumonia awareness-raising campaign was carried out among vulnerable populations in Central Luzon, the Philippines, as part of broader efforts to reduce tuberculosis. Activities included orientation sessions with local health workers, lectures with local authorities, the promotion of clean and safe stoves to households and with business, and a needs assessment for the development of community action plans.
7. Makerere University Lung Institute, Uganda
Makerere University Lung Institute held a webinar with experts, including pediatricians, on improving oxygen systems to avert childhood pneumonia deaths. It is estimated that one in three children with pneumonia has low oxygen levels in Uganda. The pediatricians demanded that the oxygen systems needed for the COVID-19 pandemic, but are not in use, be repurposed for pediatric wards to help children breathe.
8. Bako Youth Development Foundation, Nigeria
Under the slogan “Let us fight pneumonia!” the Bako Youth Development Foundation conducted a health campaign in Chikun Local Government Area, Nigeria. Community, religious, and women leaders, and communities, were engaged through workshops, public address systems with music, as well as through posters and leaflets in local health clinics. On World Pneumonia Day itself an event was held with dignitaries.
9. Center for Health and Disease Studies, Nepal
A pneumonia awareness campaign for expectant mothers took place at Paropakar Maternity and Women’s Hospital in Nepal. Educational videos, banners, and pamphlets – on the signs and symptoms of pneumonia and preventative measures – reached more than 1,000 pregnant women. A banner was also installed at the hospital to continue to build awareness.
10. Focus on Ability Society, Malawi
More than 500 people attended a pneumonia football and netball bonanza at Kaporo, Karonga District, Malawi. A local radio station was engaged to get the word out. As a result of the campaign, an increasing number of people visited the Kaporo Rural Hospital for pneumonia diagnosis and treatment.
11. Nur Foundation, Pakistan
The Nur Foundation in collaboration with the Fatima Memorial Hospital conducted an awareness-raising campaign in Lahore, Pakistan, to enhance the role of Lady Health Workers in community case management of pneumonia. Health care providers conducted training workshops for female health supervisors and workers. Focused group discussions and health camps also took place to engage mothers, community and faith leaders on the signs and symptoms of pneumonia.
View the Call for Proposals here and the Every Breath Counts announcement here.
Watch our webinar: Fighting Pneumonia: An Agenda for Action here.
RESOURCES
Events
- Childhood Pneumonia & Quality of Care, Results 4 Development
- The Future of Pneumonia Prevention, IVAC/JHU
- The Double Burden: Pneumonia & COVID-19 and the race to close the oxygen access gap, Australian International Development Network
- World Pneumonia Day Conference on Pneumonia and Air Pollution, PneumoLight and Every Breath Counts
- Air Pollution, Climate Change & Health: Joining the Dots on World Pneumonia Day, COP26 WHO Health Pavilion
- Addressing the leading killer of children from a preventable cause and accelerating PCV coverage in Asia, Save the Children
- Pneumonia and the need for Cleaner Air & Climate Action, Lung Care Foundation, Indore, India
- Every Breath Counts Research Priorities Webinar
Country commitments
- India: Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) available to all children across India
- Democratic Republic of Congo: Health minister sets up oxygen taskforce with aid agencies and the private sector to produce more oxygen in DRC’s 26 provinces
- Chad and Ethiopia – Ministries of Health agree to improve pneumonia control plans as part of broader child survival strategies
- Nigeria – Health Minister renews commitment to implement the Nigerian Integrated Pneumonia Control Strategy and Implementation Plan and the Global Action Plan on Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD)
- Somalia: Health Minister announces more resources for child health and reaffirms commitment to PCV introduction and developing a pneumonia control strategy
Reports
- The Missing Piece: Why the Pandemic is an inflection point for Pneumonia Control, Every Breath Counts
- Pneumonia & Diarrhoea Progress Report 2021, IVAC, John Hopkins University
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
Articles
- Ending the Permanent Respiratory Disease Pandemic, Project Syndicate, Every Breath Counts
- Respiratory syncytial virus: promising progress against a leading cause of pneumonia, Lancet Global Health, Amy Ginsberg et al
Press releases
- Nigeria has highest number of air pollution-related child pneumonia deaths in the world, UNICEF Nigeria
- Call to increase funding for oxygen response, UNITAID
- Global Efforts must be strengthened to end the preventable burden of pneumonia, FIRS
- India completes national introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Gavi
- Number of African Children receiving pneumonia vaccines falls for the first time in four years, Save the Children
Blogs
- Clean Air critical to reducing pneumonia deaths, Every Breath Counts Pneumonia and Air Pollution Scorecard 2021
- What pneumonia can teach us about COVID-19, PATH
- Investing in oxygen before the pandemic gave Ethiopia a head start in its COVID-19 response, CHAI
- Broken oxygen equipment cost children’s lives at hospitals in Kano, Nigeria. We developed a fix, CHAI
- Oxygen 101: An Explanation of the Oxygen Gap, Assist International
- Why we need medical gas companies to help close oxygen gaps, Access to Medicine Foundation
- Unitaid marks World Pneumonia Day and calls on all partners for more funding to the oxygen response, Unitaid
- Pneumonia takes the life of a child a minute – this is how most of these deaths can be prevented, UNICEF
- Clean Cooking Reduces Household Air Pollution- A Leading Cause of Pneumonia, HAPIN Study
Podcasts
Videos
- Sickness and survival in pre-COVID-19 Nepal. IVAC/Gavi
- Studying the effects of PCV in Kenya, Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Impact Study, Kemri Wellcome Trust
ARTICLES
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
A2O2 Resource Library
The A2O2 Resource Library is a platform for all things oxygen - covering every aspect of the oxygen ecosystem from planning to equipment to patient care.
10 May, 2023
You paid WHAT?
For the more than 400 million adults and children who get sick with pneumonia each year, the costs of treatment can be catastrophic - as individuals and families are forced to pay out-of-pocket for healthcare. Every Breath Counts is launching a new campaign to document these crippling costs.
09 December, 2022
Antimicrobial resistance and pneumonia
How do we reduce inappropriate use of antibiotics for the treatment of pneumonia and close any remaining access gaps for pneumonia patients, especially children, who are missing out?
18 November, 2022
2nd Global Forum on Childhood Pneumonia
The 2nd Global Forum on Childhood Pneumonia built on the momentum for action generated by the first Forum in 2020, enabling countries to rapidly reduce child pneumonia deaths and accelerate achievement of the child survival SDG.
13 November, 2022
Pulse oximeters that work for everyone
There is growing evidence that pulse oximeters do not work effectively on darker skin tones. This is unacceptable. Every Breath Counts has launched a petition to change this.
10 October, 2022
