Read a short note from Dr David Wang about World Pneumonia Day:
Pneumonia is the world’s leading infectious killer of children under the age of 5.1 People at risk for pneumonia also include adults over the age of 65 and people with pre-existing health conditions.2 Each year on the 12th of November, people from all around the world raise awareness about pneumonia, advocate for global action and promote interventions to protect, prevent and treat pneumonia. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) children can be protected from pneumonia through simple interventions like immunisation, adequate nutrition and addressing environmental factors like living in crowded homes and parental smoking.3
Over the past year, the COVID pandemic has caused disruption to health services causing a secondary impact on those suffering from pneumonia.4 However, today we are united in our fight against this disease. Although antibiotics can help, raising awareness and encouraging people to adhere to a healthy lifestyle can prevent more people from suffering. Visit the Stop Pneumonia website for more information on the disease and what you can do to get involved and raise awareness this World Pneumonia Day – www.stoppneumonia.org/latest/worldpneumonia-day/. - Dr. David Wang, Associate Medical Director APAC, Global Solutions
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Resources:
1: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/pneumonia
2: https://stoppneumonia.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Fighting-for-Breath-briefing-8th-pp-low-res_rev-20-Nov.pdf
3: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/pneumonia
4: https://www.unicef.org/rosa/media/13066/file/Main%20Report.pdf