10 Feb New pneumococcal vaccines tailored for the needs of children in developing countries
Every year, the bacterium known as Streptococcus pneumonia, or pneumococcal disease, kills more than 500,000 children, most of them in the poorest countries of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. This massive death toll makes it impossible to significantly improve child survival without introducing new tools to prevent the primary cause of the deadliest forms of pneumonia and meningitis throughout the developing world.
On Monday, 14 February in Nairobi, the President of Kenya will host an event at 10 am local time to celebrate the global roll-out of cutting-edge new vaccines against pneumococcal disease—a process that is beginning with the introduction in Kenya and four other developing countries, of the most advanced technologies ever brought to bear on the world’s deadliest cause of pneumonia and meningitis.