This morning I posted an article by Dr. Orin Levine about World Pneumonia Day that appeared in Global Health Magazine and wouldn’t you know it, now we have this great contribution to the ONE Blog from him!
-Chris

What do Hugh Laurie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Senator Bill Frist, and Grammy winner Angélique Kidjo have in common? They are all lending their voices to the growing call to stop child pneumonia. Health leaders from across the globe— Rwandan Health Minister Richard Sezibera, Samir Saha from Bangladesh and Lulu Bravo from the Philippines, to name a few—are commemorating the first ever World Pneumonia Day today. Year after year, this leading killer of children has gone unrecognized, but like me, these advocates believe we can put an end to this disease. Stand with us and say: Pneumonia no more.

The goal of World Pneumonia Day is simple: to stand up for the children who lose their lives to this preventable, treatable disease. Every 15 seconds a child is killed by pneumonia. But we can stop the clock and save millions if vaccines, antibiotics and protective measures like breastfeeding are universally implemented.

Sounding the call to action in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Michel Nyembwe, who organized a televised football match to bring attention to the disease; in Nigeria, Adegoke Falade is speaking on the radio about pneumonia. In India, a Great Pneumonia March is turning thousands of heads in rural Uttar Pradesh, and a mass media campaign is hitting Pakistan TV. In the United States, advocates from health, development, government and business communities will meet in New York City for a summit dedicated to global pneumonia control.

Want to join in the action and stand up against pneumonia? Check out this handy map to see what events are taking place in your country. But no matter where you are, showing your support for World Pneumonia is simple. Just put on a pair of your favorite blue jeans and tell your friends about pneumonia, the most solvable problem in global health.

-Orin Levine, Executive Director of PneumoADIP