Health:
How ever, the disease is neglected in terms of funding to improve survival rates, as it receives only three per cent of the funding in the global infectious disease research, according to UNICEF. To battle this neglect and build awareness around the disease while creating a forum for the global health community to reflect on what is done and what is yet to be done, World Pneumonia Day is observed annually on November 12.Stop Pneumonia Initiative is run by the Every Breath Counts Coalition, a public-private partnership to help governments across the world reduce deaths caused by pneumonia. The partnership includes more than 140 community-based organizations, government agencies, academic institutions and foundations.
In 2013, WHO launched a campaign to end deaths by pneumonia and diarrhea, another leading killer disease for children, by 2025 called The integrated Global Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhea (GAPPD).
An acute respiratory infection, pneumonia affects the lungs. Our lungs have small sacs called alveoli which are meant to be filled by air when we breathe. In alveoli, blood exchanges oxygen and carbon dioxide with the filled air.
In a person suffering from pneumonia, these sacs are filled with liquid and pus inducing symptoms like cough, difficulty in breathing, rapid breathing, fever. Viruses as well as bacteria and fungi can cause pneumonia. Older people suffering from severe Covid infections can develop pneumonia.
According to UNICEF, proper immunization can help prevent pneumonia and even low-cost antibiotics can treat the disease if diagnosed properly.
