World Pneumonia Day: 12th Nov, 2009
Q. World Pneumonia Day was celebrated on which date for the first time?- Published on 14 Nov 17a. Nov 12, 2009
b. Nov 12, 2010
c. Nov 14, 2009
d. Nov 14, 2010
ANSWER: Nov 12, 2009
World Pneumonia Day is celebrated to highlight the seriousness of pneumonia as a public health problem and to encourage more organizations/nations to look at ways of combating the disease.
This day was first hosted in 2009 by Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia (GCCP) that was formed to help build public and political support to address this problem.
It's marked every year on 12 November to:- Raise awareness about pneumonia, the world's leading killer of children under the age of five;
- Promote interventions to protect against, prevent and treat pneumonia; and
- Generate action to combat pneumonia.
Key facts:- Pneumonia is the leading infectious killer of children under five years of age worldwide.
- Pneumonia killed 920136 children under the age of 5 in 2015, accounting for 16% of all deaths of children under five years old.
- Pneumonia is easily preventable and treatable cause of deaths in children and yet a child dies from the infection every 20 seconds.
- Children can be protected from pneumonia; it can be prevented with simple interventions, and treated with low-cost, low-tech medication and care.
Pneumonia can be transmitted in a number of ways:- The viruses and bacteria that are commonly found in a child's nose or throat can infect the lungs if they are inhaled.
- Organism may also spread via air-borne droplets from a cough or sneeze.
- Pneumonia may spread through blood, especially during and shortly after birth.
Global Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea:- The Integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD), by WHO and UNICEF aims to accelerate pneumonia control with a combination of interventions to protect, prevent, and treat pneumonia in children.
- The goal is to reduce the deaths from pneumonia to fewer than 3 children in 1000 live births, and from diarrhoea to less than 1 in 1000 by 2025.
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India is functioning with other ministries through various national programmes (such as MAA, UIP, ICDS) with the involvement of ASHA/ANM/anganwadi worker at community level to protect, prevent and treat pneumonia.
