TAHIR AMIN

ISLAMABAD: Pneumonia claims an innocent child’s life every 30 seconds making it the number one cause of global childhood mortality while in Pakistan alone, it is responsible for the death of 92,000 less than five-year-old children per annum and contributes 18% to the total global child deaths.

This was stated by Dr Tabish Hazir, Professor and Head of Pediatrics at Children Hospital Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and Principal investigator for acute and respiratory illnesses in Pakistan, while addressing a press conference to mark World Pneumonia Day here on Wednesday. November 12 marks the commemoration of World Pneumonia Day every year across the world.

Although the death toll due to pneumonia is too high, vaccines hold promise of saving children from dying of the disease, said Tabish, adding that Pneumonia control and other child health interventions must be accelerated to meet Millennium Development Goal 4: Two-thirds reduction in under-five children mortality by 2015.

He further said that a lot could be done by understanding the fact that Vaccination is a child’s right and to safeguard his future; he should be protected against Pneumonia and other preventable diseases.

Pneumonia is a form of acute respiratory infection that affects the lungs. When an individual has pneumonia, the alveoli (small sacs in lungs which fill with air when a healthy person breathes) are filled with pus and fluid, which makes breathing painful and limits oxygen intake. Infants and children younger than two years are at higher risk of contracting pneumonia as their immune system is still developing. Symptoms of pneumonia in children include rapid or difficult breathing, cough, fever, chills, headaches, loss of appetite and wheezing.

He said that Pakistani government introduced the pneumonia vaccine last year in its EPI programme making Pakistan the first South Asian nation to provide free vaccination against pneumonia to infants. But, this vaccine inclusion alone is not enough, as in spite of the government’s efforts to provide free vaccines to the children of Pakistan, a considerable number of children in the country remain non-vaccinated against pneumonia and other deadly diseases. Hence, the aim of preventing pneumonia should be taken up nationally by all citizens through ensuring timely visits to the EPI centres and vaccinating children against pneumonia and other deadly diseases for free, he added.

Immunization is a proven tool for controlling and eliminating life-threatening infectious diseases. It is one of the most cost-effective health investments.

Vaccines can protect children by preparing their bodies to fight many potentially deadly diseases. They are responsible for control of many infectious diseases that were once common around the world, including smallpox, polio, measles, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), rubella (German measles), mumps, tetanus, and Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib).

Every year due to vaccines, approximately 3,000,000 deaths are prevented and 750,000 children are saved from disability. The Expanded Programme on immunization was launched in Pakistan during 1976. Today it is providing vaccines to every child of Pakistan free of cost. The EPI aims to protect children against 9 vaccine preventable diseases; Polio, Tuberculosis, Pertussis, Hepatitis B, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Hib disease, Measles and pneumonia, of which pneumonia is the latest addition.

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (pneumonia vaccine) was introduced in Pakistan’s EPI programme in October, 2012. This achievement made Pakistan to be the first South Asian country to include PCV in its national immunization programme. Despite the government’s efforts, an unavoidable 46% of the child population in Pakistan still remains non-immunized leading to child mortality, he added.