The 2012 edition of the World Pneumonia Day was celebrated in Yaounde on Monday November 12.
Pneumonia is the major cause of death in children. More than 1.5 million children die of pneumonia every year. Statistics reveal that the disease kills a child every 20 seconds and it is responsible for 20 per cent of deaths in children in the world. Pneumonia is often considered as the forgotten killer because historically it is has received less attention than it deserves.
It is against this backdrop that the 2012 edition of the World Pneumonia Day was celebrated in Yaounde on Monday November 12, 2012. The Government Primary School Group II in the Efoulan neighbourhood was chosen as this year’s venue for the celebration on the theme “Fight Pneumonia. Save a child.”
Speaking during the occasion, the Head Mistress of the school, Mrs Atangana épse Ndi Agnes said the prevention of pneumonia is an important element in the strategy for the reduction of infant mortality. The President of FISS-MST/SIDA, Betrand Kampoer said the aim was to sensitise parents to not to hesitate to vaccinate their children against pneumonia. He said vaccination in Cameroon is free for children from 0 to 11 months but only 53 percent of the vaccines are being used. He also said the goal is to ensure that vaccination rate moves up to 100 per cent by 2013. He explained that the Government Primary School Efoulan was chosen because the school is found in a highly populated area where the children are more exposed to diseases such as pneumonia, malaria and diarrhoea, among others.
The objective of the day is to raise awareness of the national community on the dangers and disastrous consequences of pneumonia and advocate for action. The symptoms of pneumonia include difficult or fast respiration, cough, fiver and anorexia. Most children in good health, that is, with strong antibodies can resist the infection whereas those with weak immune systems are exposed to the high risk of contracting pneumonia. Pre-existing diseases such as HIV infection or measles equally increase risk of contracting the disease in children. Organised by FISS-MST/SIDA, the event took place in the presence of officials of Yaounde III Sub-division, and guests.
