In an attempt to further create awareness on how to prevent and treat pneumonia, renowned pharmaceutical brand in the country, GSK, on this year's World Pneumonia Day, launched a new initiative, ‘Faces of Pneumonia’, a documentary to raise awareness of childhood pneumonia, the leading cause of death among children globally.
‘Faces of Pneumonia’ is part of GSK’s commitment to reduce the impact of this killer disease. The documentary features interviews with experts and patients across the developed and developing world to reveal the real-life cost of pneumonia and what can be done to improve prevention and treatment.
The World Pneumonia Day was organized by the Global Coalition Against Child Pneumonia to encourage international efforts to combat the disease. Yearly, pneumonia hospitalizes between 11 million and 20 million children, and kills more than 2 million children worldwide. This is equivalent to 13 Boeing 747s crashing every single day. With effective treatment and prevention, 1.3 million of those lives could be saved.
The company said it made the move to reiterate its commitment to help fight pneumonia worldwide and in Anglophone West Africa in particular.
The documentary reinforces the need for education among parents, improvements in access to treatment and increased prevention including hygiene, clean water and vaccination. If identified early, pneumonia can be treated using antibiotics. As such, the World Health Organization recommends vaccination to help protect children from pneumonia.
Pneumonia places a significant burden on patients, their families, healthcare professionals and society. Prevention through vaccination can reduce disability and death from disease; reduce pain, suffering, sleepless nights and loss of work days and income for parents due to the need to care for an ill child.
Comments
Post a Comment