Welcome to the World Immunization Week Special Issue
As we move into full swing for 2018, the Stop Pneumonia Coalition reflects on last year's progress on World Pneumonia Day with some measures of what was accomplished, and we hope to build on the excitement that was generated as we looking towards World Immunization Week (WIW) beginning the last full week of April. As World Immunization Week approaches, in this issue we highlight how you can be involved before and during WIW, and bring you a special feature on pneumonia, poverty and immunization complete with facts that can help you advocate for more resources and action to address this leading childhood killer.
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World Immunization Week 2018: "Protected Together, #VaccinesWork"
Immunization, along with treatment and protection, is a vital tool in the fight against pneumonia.
Many of the leading causes of severe pneumonia, including both bacteria (pneumococcus, Haemophilus influenzae type b) and viruses (influenza, pertussis and measles), are vaccine preventable. Still, far too many children are missing out on potentially lifesaving vaccines. To recognize the importance of immunization, including vaccines against pneumonia, the world will mark World Immunization Week (WIW) from April 24-30, 2018 with a focus on the theme "Protected Together #VaccinesWork." The theme is a collective call to action to ensure access to vaccines for every person in the world, no matter where they live.
Join the action!
The
World Immunization Week planning coalition has created a number of resources and actions collaborators can take. Here, Stop Pneumonia presents a selection of special relevance for pneumonia advocates:
1. The pneumococcus is the leading cause of pneumonia deaths and of severe pneumonia infections in children:
2. Join the WIW Throwback Thursday Campaign featuring pneumonia
Join Every Breath Counts (EBC) on
April 5th for a Pre-WIW Throwback Thursday social media campaign
that will focus on illustrating the need to address pneumonia for achieving
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 3.2).
Read and tweet out their
article outlining why PCV coverage is so critical to national child survival efforts. If you would like to be part of this effort, or have ideas for how to make sure vaccines that can prevent pneumonia are front and center of
WIW
activities, please
email Leith Greenslade,
[email protected]
.
3. Get social (media, that is) with VoICE:
It's easy to adapt this year's WIW theme in your social media outreach to highlight an array of issues like health security, equity and poverty, and the Value of Immunization Compendium of Evidence (
VoICE
) can help you do it. Read the new special feature on pneumonia and vaccines (highlighted below and
available here
)
and try these Tweets on for size:
- Antibiotic resistant pneumococcal infections cost the US $100M/year but with vaccines, we can be #ProtectedTogether - #VaccinesWork https://bit.ly/2ugMeBD
- Drug-resistant pneumococcus is a threat to US health security, says CDC, but with #vaccines, we can be #ProtectedTogether. https://bit.ly/2ugMeBD
- Vaccines against pneumonia have greatest economic benefit for the poor and help us stay Protected Together #VaccinesWork https://bit.ly/2pznG1I
- #VaccinesWork: Study says making sure Ethiopian kids are Protected Together from pneumococcus costs just $40/year/child! https://bit.ly/2pznG1I
- Malnourished kids suffer the most from pneumonia. Let's level the playing field to keep them Protected Together #VaccinesWork https://bit.ly/2G5DU9h
Pneumonia Vaccines: Secret Weapons in the War on Poverty - More from the VOICE Tool
In anticipation of World Immunization Week, the Value of Immunization Compendium of Evidence (VoICE) tool's special feature for March brings you evidence related to the complex and interwoven relationship between childhood pneumonia, poverty, and vaccines.
Childhood pneumonia is arguably the most unfair affliction in the world. Not only is pneumonia the leading cause of death in children under 5 years of age - taking the lives of more than
100 children each hour
, nearly a million per year - but it disproportionately affects those living in the poorest households and in the poorest countries around the world. Hib, pneumococcal and measles vaccines are turning the tide in the battle against childhood pneumonia, and are helping to erase the complex inequity into which children living in poverty are born.
In the VoICE feature on pneumonia and poverty you will find explanations and evidence around:
- The reciprocal relationship between pneumonia and other common childhood infections, nutrition, HIV and more
- Risk factors for pneumonia stemming from parental education and air pollutio
- The role of pneumonia vaccines in protecting the most vulnerable and the unvaccinated
- The economic benefit of pneumonia vaccines to poor households and nations
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World Pneumonia Day 2017: Performance is in!
Thousands of advocates around the world worked to make World Pneumonia Day 2017 a great success. The message to take action against pneumonia was shared in the news, through events, and on social media. We've become more of a presence this year, Check it out:
- Over 115 articles from 17 countries featuring World Pneumonia Day. (Psst, check out a couple of our favorites here and here)
- Over 9000 tweets using the hashtag #WorldPneumoniaDay (by the way, this hashtag achieved nearly 160 million impressions!)
- Over a dozen events and report launches in honor of World Pneumonia Day 2017
By our most recent count, that means we have achieved 3 times the amount of media coverage from 2016, reflecting the interest and excitement generated through high-profile events such as the release of Save the Children's
"
Fighting for Breath" report, the launch of the
Every Breath Counts Coalition in New York and the National Geographic Magazine
World Pneumonia Day panel discussion, featuring their October 2017
vaccines article, that took place at the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene meeting a few days before WPD.
Children in
Damangaza village in Abuja,
Nigeria read the books they received, donated by Pfizer.
Additional country stories are now in!
Want to learn more about what happened on World Pneumonia Day 2017 and find out what advocates are doing to fight pneumonia around the globe? Check out our rolling feature on action in countries:
Have something to share with us?
We want to highlight the pneumonia stories and news from your country: advocacy successes, pneumonia resources, new research, people profiles and more.
Send it to us here.
Save the Children's Beating Pneumonia Series
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Oxygen, antibiotics and measles vaccine advocacy:
Features from the IVAC Pneumonia and Diarrhea Progress Report Appendix
The
2017 Pneumonia and Diarrhea Progress Report
revealed modest progress against global targets for interventions to reduce pneumonia and diarrhea among the 15 countries with the highest burden of associated mortality. In an appendix released separately, partners from CHAI, Results for Development and Lions Club International Foundation describe the important work they are doing to measure and improve availability of oxygen therapy, ensure a stable supply of appropriate antibiotics for pneumonia in Tanzania, and
raising the profile of (and funding for) measles vaccine. For instance, research fro
m CHAI in 5 countries revealed that less than half of pediatric hospital wards had pulse oximeters and oxygen, critical for severe cases of pneumonia. In the Progress Report Appendix, you'll also find intriguing information on who bears the burden of healthcare spending in the 15 highest burden countries.
Dr. Mathuram Santosham received the Prince Mahidol 2017 Award.
Hib vaccine legends are honored
Haemophilus influenza (Hib) was a major driver of childhood pneumonia mortality until widespread coverage of Hib vaccine reduced child deaths from Hib infections (including pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis) by more than 95%. A very special award, conferred each year by the Thai Royal Family, the 2017 Prince Mahidol Award in the field of Public Health recognized the landmark contribution of Hib vaccines and the people that helped make it a success.
The
recipients, Professor Porter W. Anderson, Jr., Dr. John B. Robbins, Dr. Rachel Schneerson and Professor Mathuram Santosham
were recognized for their "outstanding contribution in the field of public health for the sake of the well-being of the people." The Committee noted "Millions of children have been saved from Hib disease. Few would have anticipated that by the year 2020, over 7 million lives would have been saved due to the use of Hib vaccine."
Progress on pneumonia is still too slow, leading to the question:
why?
Dr. Keith Klugman, Director of Pneumonia at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Dr. Stefan Swartling Peterson, the United Nations Children's Fund's chief of health, cite access to care, pneumonia diagnosis, and costly vaccines as contributing problems in this recent interview in Devex.
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The Pneumonia Newsletter Issue #17 will cover the 71st World Health Assembly (May 21-26, 2018), updates from the International Symposium on Pneumococci and Pneumococcal Diseases (ISPPD) in Melbourne, Australia (April 16-19), World Pneumonia Day features from India and Côte d'Ivoire on the Stop Pneumonia blog, an upcoming Oxygen Therapy Tool, and more.
A new report is in the works
reviewing the levels of Official Development Assistance (ODA) spent on fighting pneumonia (2007-17) and the levels of infectious disease R&D spent on pneumonia, relative to other diseases and to the overall burden of child pneumonia (% of all child deaths attributable to pneumonia). It will update the 2014
Pushing the Pace Report
. Report analysis is being conducted by
Development Initiatives
and R&D analysis by the
University of Southampton
, with support from IHME and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Email
[email protected]
for more details and stay tuned to the Pneumonia Newsletter.
Our Pneumonia newsletter wouldn't be possible without the support of our advocates from around the world.
We love bringing you the latest news and events as we push for progress on our child health goals.
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@StopPneumonia
: In 2016, 158,176 children died from pneumonia in India. However, there is hope. This new blog from
@SavetheChildren
&
@tarabracejohn
explores how healthcare facilities can improve with
health funding commitment at the federal and state level:
http://bit.ly/2DeCZkJ
@Gavi:
This
#InternationalWomensDay
, it's time to celebrate all the AMAZING women who are saving lives around the world through immunisation programmes we support. Thanks to
#VaccineHeroes
like Shrijana of
#Nepal
,
#VaccinesWork
!
http://ow.ly/SahP30iOoq0
#WomensDay
@StopPneumonia
: How often did you wash your hands in 2017? The more you wash your hands, the less you are at risk for pneumonia and diarrheal diseases! Here is what the Global Handwashing Partnership (
@HandwashingSoap
) accomplished last year:
http://bit.ly/2CeFeIw
@IVACTweets
: How cool! Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) could improve access to vaccines and other treatments. Learn more:
http://bit.ly/2n1JYbq
@JSIHealth
@inSupplyJSI
@LlamaNews
@IFPMA
:
#Vaccines
packaging that is optimized for cold room storage, respects the environment, lowers freight costs & is more secure? That's right. Find out more here:
http://bit.ly/2plUQlF
#VaccinesWork
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