National Cancer Awareness Day - 7 November

To help increase the visibility of pneumonia and to raise public awareness of its risks, World Pneumonia Day is observed on 12 November. World Pneumonia Day, marked every year on 12 November, was established by the Stop Pneumonia Initiative in 2009 to raise awareness about the toll of pneumonia

World Pneumonia Day was first observed in 2009 by the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia.  Global Coalition Against Child Pneumonia exists to raise global awareness about pneumonia.  World Pneumonia Day will help bring this health crisis to the public’s attention and will encourage policymakers and grassroots organizers alike to combat the disease.

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs. Normally, the small sacs in the lungs are filled with air. In someone who has pneumonia, the air sacs fill up with pus and other fluid. Viruses, like the flu or RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), cause most cases of pneumonia. Kids with pneumonia caused by a virus usually have symptoms that happen over time and tend to be mild. Bacteria can also cause pneumonia.

Pneumonia is the single biggest infectious killer of adults and children – claiming the lives of 2.5 million, including 672,000 children, in 2019. It is one of the leading causes of deaths in children under five years old despite being a preventable and treatable disease. Almost all of these child deaths occur in developing countries with most concentrated in just seven - India, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in three deaths in India is caused by pneumonia.  Pneumonia in India is the leading cause of infant deaths. Every year almost 200,000 children under five die of pneumonia in India. On a global level, pneumonia kills around 900,000 children in the world every year.

Further Reading

World Pneumonia Day - stop pneumonia initiative

Fighting for Breath – A Call to Action to Stop Children Dying of Pneumonia