CaixaForum Madrid hosts the 2nd Global Pneumonia Forum attended by representatives from 14 countries to talk about how to end a lethal disease in newborns and children under 5 years of age in low-income countries
Ministers and senior officials of health and representatives of public and private entities from 14 Asian, African and South American countries meet this morning at the CaixaForum Madrid at the second Global Pneumonia Forum that welcomes Spain. An act in whose inauguration he has participated the Infanta Christina and in which the international leaders have sent a single message: a greater effort is needed to put an end to thousands of deaths that are avoidable above all, of course, in low income countries. A terrifying figure was released on the forum: Every 42 seconds in the world a child dies with pneumonia.Full house in one of the CaixaForum function rooms from early this Wednesday morning to host a new edition of the Global Pneumonia Forum -the first one was held in Barcelona in January 2020, on the eve of the outbreak of the pandemic – attended by 300 experts from around the world. The “la Caixa” Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -with Professor Keith Klugman, director of the Pneumonia program, as representative- UNICEF or Save the Children have resumed this meeting to address one of the greatest challenges worldwide.
The meeting, with Spain as the host country, was attended by representatives of Nigeria, Somalia, Guinea, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Peru, India, Mozambique…There is talk of a major issue: vaccination in the world, the lack of access for children in the most disadvantaged areas to a robust health systemthat protects them against diseases as lethal as pneumonia.
On average, more than 2,000 children die every day from this infection. One death every two minutes.
Because it continues to be the leading cause of infant mortality from infection in the world, with some 700,000 deaths a year. Of these deaths, three out of four, are of babies under one year of age.. On average, more than 2,000 children die every day from this infection. Those who this Wednesday and Thursday will speak in Madrid about this ailment -governors, United Nations leaders, NGOs or development and cooperation agencies- so lethal for the most fragile, they represent countries that account for 60% of all childhood pneumonia deaths.
vaccination drop
As master of ceremonies for the inauguration of the forum has exercised Theo Sowa, Ghanaian activist. She has given way to different speakers who, like the Infanta Cristinahave focused on a problem that, yes, is global, but that hits the poorest countries especially hardas, in a meeting with EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA, from the Prensa Ibérica group, the activist and lawyer Rebeca Gyumi who, in 2016, challenged the Tanzanian Marriage Lawher country, where she comes from, which allowed girls to marry from the age of 14, with the consent of their parents.
Because, points out Rebeca and other international leaders will repeatreducing childhood deaths from pneumonia is an effort that everyone must join, without excuses. Also so that these children -especially girls, the activist points out- have a future and an education and that their survival and health improve. “There are tools that make it possible to avoid that children die of pneumonia, but we will not be able to achieve this if we do not guarantee that all children are protected with vaccinations and have access to a fast and accurate diagnosis and effective treatment with antibiotics, oxygen and therapeutic food to fight malnutrition“, has assured Gustavo Suárez Pertierra, President of UNICEF Spain.
“We all know that there is no progress without health. There is no economic growth without strong health systems,” said the Infanta Cristina at the inauguration
“We all know that there is no progress without health. There is no economic growth without strong health systems. And that is why we have to face the diseases that kill the most and pneumonia, without a doubt, is one of them”, he said, for his part, Infanta Cristina, director of the International Area of the “la Caixa” Foundation.
The retrocess
important to bet for this progress in health issues, it has been said, in a context strongly marked by the pandemic, which has caused the greatest setback in almost three decades. Between 2019 and 2021, 67 million children have not had access to vaccines. UNICEF just warned in your report ‘State of the World’s Children 2022’. Vaccination coverage levels declined in 112 countries. Specifically, only 51% of children around the world receive all three doses of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) that, among other diseasesprevents pneumonia.
In the most marginalized communitiesinequalities have also increased due to the crisis caused by the coronavirus and the levels of acute malnutrition have increased, in which 2 out of 3 children are in underdeveloped areas. “Unacceptable” said the investigator of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) Quique Bassat, that with adequate vaccinations and treatments, so many children continue to die from pneumonia, that tops all infant mortality statistics. With the disease quickly diagnosed and treated, deaths could be reduced by more than 80%.
54 countries are far from reducing child deaths to the levels required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Currently, and this was revealed this morning in Madrid, 54 countries are far from reducing child deaths to the levels required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). 80% of them in Africa. The challenges lie in reducing deaths from pneumonia and increase vaccination coverage for certain diseases above 90%, end malnutrition or exposure to air pollution.