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June 2016 Newsletter
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Welcome to The Pneumonia Newsletter 

Dear Friends,
 
Many of you have asked me about ways to connect advocates around the world who are fighting pneumonia, not just on World Pneumonia Day but year-round. I'm thrilled that, thanks to support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we're able to highlight your efforts in a new monthly newsletter from IVAC!
 
Now, more than ever before, the global community needs advocates to rally against pneumonia and diarrhea and to communicate how investment in these diseases is a powerful tool for progress in child health. Energizing events--World Immunization Week, World Health Assembly and Red Nose Day, to name a few--have spurred governments and leaders to champion child health. Many promises have been made--and strong advocates can help to turn this tremendous momentum into accountability and change.
 
At IVAC, we're working to engage advocates through robust outreach with partners and a strategic virtual presence. With our combined efforts, we have the power to position pneumonia and diarrhea as a priority for donor countries. I'm optimistic that our relentless work and collective voice will move the needle on child mortality and morbidity. 
 
Sincerely,

Lois Privor-Dumm
Director of Policy, Advocacy and Communications
International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC)



What Have You Been Up To? 

Partner Spotlights
This summer, we are spotlighting the pneumonia-related work that coalition members and partners are spearheading to communicate to policymakers in donor countries. By illustrating the power of their investments, we make a strong case for continued support and emphasize the need to prioritize pneumonia and diarrhea interventions to meet SDGs. 

If you have a thriving program, an inspiring story or an unyielding advocate we could profile in a blog series and social media, please email Salma Warshanna-Sparklin at swarsha3@jhu.edu by July 1, 2016.
 
World Pneumonia Day 
It's time to start planning for November 12, 2016! In order to better coordinate advocacy efforts with you and other organizations, please tell us about your plans by filling out this brief survey. 


New Tools 

VIEW-hub
A new data visualization platform from IVAC provides stark numbers on where shortfalls exist in Hib, PCV and rotavirus vaccine introduction and coverage. For example:
  • 42 percent of the world's infants (56.1 million) are not receiving Hib vaccine;
  • 60 percent (80.7 million) are not receiving PCV; and
  • 76 percent (102.8 million) are not receiving rotavirus vaccine.
With real-time data updates, VIEW-hub can be used to develop strategies for accelerating progress on global and country levels. PneumoBlog


Immunization Scorecard
RESULTS UK and Save the  Children have developed an immunization scorecard  th at  lo oks at progress on national immunization coverage and equitable ac cess  i n 75 countries. The tool highlights why we need to go further, act faster and  make fairer access to immunization, if we are to achieve universal immuni zation coverage. Vaccineswork 


The Every Breath Counts Pneumonia Training & Education Kits
The Diarrhea & Pneumonia Working Group has created the first open-access, free to download and adapt training and education materials to improve the diagnosis and treatment of childhood pneumonia.  The materials were designed for caregivers and frontline health workers and align with the WHO/UNICEF iCCM pneumonia guidelines.
PETITION

Universal Access to Immunization
Speak Up Africa, in partnership with Global Citizen, has launched an online EveryShotCounts petition for universal access to immunization in Africa, ahead of the next African Union summit in July in Kigali, Rwanda. The petition aims to gather a minimum of 10,000 signatures. The petition contains language around pneumonia and diarrhea. To sign on, please visit http://www.speakupafrica.org/
 

Innovations

Breastfeeding 
The NIFTY cup, an exciting innovation from  PATH, can help ensure that all babies are able to be fed breastmilk. Breastfeeding prevents the development of pneumonia, diarrhea, malnutrition and other diseases. 




Diagnosis
Johns Hopkins University student teams have developed a web-based application that could help doctors differentiate between viral and bacterial pneumonia. The data visualization compares characteristics of a child's health with a data set of 1,000 pediatric pneumonia patients. PneumoBlog 




In The News

Vaccines 
With help from Gavi, Myanmar (Burma) is adding PCV to the national routine immunization program starting July 1, 2016. Health officials are urging parents to cooperate in the program to protect infants from pneumonia and other  diseases. 
 


Antibiotics
When it comes to antibiotics in childhood pneumonia, how long is long enough? That's the question that experts explore in this commentary. One key factor: distinguishing between bacterial and non-bacterial pneumonia.  The Pneumonia Journal




Breastfeeding 
A global boom in the sale of infant and baby formula is underway, especially in 
China and Southeast Asia, raising concerns about the health of millions of mothers and their babies. 
  



 
Research Roundup

Impact
Effect of the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccination on invasive pneumococcal disease in The Gambia: a population-based surveillance study. The Lancet

Financing
Cost-effectiveness of Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine in Vietnam. Vaccine

Burden
A systematic review of the burden of vaccine preventable pneumococcal disease in UK adults. BMC Pulmonary Medicine

Equity
Persistent gender disparities in invasive pneumococcal diseases in the conjugate vaccine era. The Journal of Infectious Diseases

Prevention
The Cooking and Pneumonia Study (CAPS) in Malawi: A Nested Pilot of Photovoice Participatory Research Methodology. PLOS One



In Case You Missed It 

WHA Outcomes
Delegates at WHA have committed to implementing the Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health (2016-2030). The goal: to ensure every woman, child and adolescent, in any setting, anywhere in the world, is able to both survive and thrive by 2030. WHO 


Red Nose Day
The global movement incorporated pneumonia into the FUN-raising to end child poverty and raised $23 million total. The funds benefit Save the Children and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, among other charities, and has gone towards providing 170,000 life-saving vaccines for under-5 children in Africa and clean water and sanitation for +30,000 families in Africa--interventions that protect against and prevent pneumonia. Red Nose Day 


Mother's Day
From Mother's Day to June 17, the UN Foundation hosted the Global Mom's Relay , a campaign to raise money and support for moms and babies around the world. A whopping 500,000 has been raised simply by sharing the campaign's personal stories over social media. Funds are supporting Shot@Life and UNICEF, among other orgs. We provided six reasons why you should chip in for children's health. PneumoBlog



Established in 2009, World Pneumonia Day is marked every year on November 12th to r aise awareness about pneumonia, the world's leading infectious killer of children under the age of five; p romote interventions to protect against, prevent and treat pneumonia; and g enerate action to combat pneumonia.

To learn more, visit www.worldpneumoniaday.org

Copyright © 2016 World Pneumonia Day, All rights reserved.