November 12 is World Pneumonia Day. As with previous years, its purpose is to raise public awareness of the need for unity and demand action in the battle against this illness. The leading infectious disease that kills both adults and children worldwide is pneumonia. Its death rate alone kills more children on average than the combined rates of AIDS, measles, and malaria. The insufficiency of oxygen in the lungs highlights the significance of oxygen to our bodies and underscores the global importance of lung health. We are excited to join together on this World Pneumonia Day to discuss the importance of oxygen to human health and possible interventions to prevent pneumonia. World Pneumonia Day is especially important since that respiratory conditions are so common.
HISTORY
2009 was the inaugural World Pneumonia Day, which was marked by the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia. Their goals were to raise public awareness of the severity of pneumonia and to work together to draw attention to this often-ignored illness on a worldwide scale. "Healthy Lungs for Everyone" served as the day's overarching theme and has been since the inaugural World Pneumonia Day in 2009. The slogan was expanded to incorporate other words related to conducting campaigns, such as providing adequate protection against the disease and facilitating treatment centre accessibility for those afflicted with it.
About 1.2 million children died from pneumonia in the year that the inaugural World Pneumonia Day was marked. An Integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea was introduced by WHO and UNICEF in 2013—four years after this day was first observed on a worldwide and international level. The first public-private partnership to assist governments in implementing the Global Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (G.A.P.P.D.) was created under the moniker "Every Breath Counts" throughout the course of the following four years in an attempt to establish as much control over the diseases as possible.
Apart from this, a number of additional measures have also been implemented at different degrees to combat the assaults of pneumonia, which continues to be the leading cause of infectious mortality among both adults and children.
WORLD PNEUMONIA DAY TIMELINE
5 FACTS ABOUT PNEUMONIA EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW
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A single cause does not exist for pneumonia.
According to scientists and medical professionals - bacteria, fungus, or both at the same time, can cause pneumonia. It can also be brought on by inhaling dust, breathing in food, or breathing in any little poison in the air that might harm a person's health.
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Breastfeeding supports the defence against it.
According to medical professionals, children who consumed mother's milk on a daily basis had higher immunity, which increased their chances of fending against pneumonia and recovering from it even in the event that they were sick.
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Pneumonia killed 15% of children in 2017.
It is estimated that the epidemic claimed the lives of 808,694 children, or 15% of all children under five who perished.
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There are over thirty distinct causes of pneumonia.
Fungi, bacteria, or potentially both can cause pneumonia, but identifying the underlying cause is essential to a successful course of therapy.
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lung health is gravely endangered
Globally, the total number of pneumonia cases has increased by 75% recently.
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