15 Nov Saving Kids, Beating Pneumonia
When kids get pneumonia in the United States and Europe, they don’t usually die from it. In the rest of the world, there’s still a very good chance that they will. Over the years, improvements in living conditions and scientific advances have reduced the impact of pneumonia in rich countries. Yet, this preventable disease is the leading cause of child deaths in developing countries — pneumonia kills an estimated 1.6 million kids under the age of 5 each year.
Last year, Rwanda became the first developing country to introduce pneumococcal vaccines. With support from the GAVI Alliance, Rwanda has vaccinated 90 percent of its children against pneumococcus, the leading cause of fatal pneumonia. That’s amazing progress in one year. Think of how many lives could be saved if more countries were able protect their children from pneumonia.