The Right to Breathe: Reducing Pneumonia in Children
Looking at the sweet, chubby-cheeked boy nestling contentedly in the arms of his mother, you would never have guessed that he is not healthy. “Septian has pneumonia,” says the boy’s mother, Baiq Yuliati. “He’s been admitted to the hospital three times, and the last time was so severe he had to stay for a few days,” says his mother, Baiq Yuliati.…, Pneumonia: The Number One Killer of Children, In the last two decades, Indonesia has made significant public health gains, chiefly a steady reduction of children’s mortality and a vastly improved immunization programme. This includes the government’s most recent procurement, via UNICEF, of the first 1.6 million doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV). The doses are part of a multi-year…, Toxic environment, A common thread running through most of the pneumonia cases found by UNICEF is the toxic environment in which the children live. Septian’s house, recently rebuilt with government assistance after the Lombok earthquake, is flanked by two tobacco-curing facilities where Septian’s father, a tobacco farmer, labors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, during…, UNICEF-supported initiatives, Over the years, UNICEF has been assisting the provincial government in boosting public health services for children, especially in the aftermath of the Lombok earthquake. The effort is focused on immunization, nutrition, family monitoring of major childhood illnesses, and improving the biggest systemic problem—unequal distribution of health…, How You Can Help, Thanks to the generous contributions of individual donors, UNICEF has been able to work with hospitals, health centres, health ministry officials and medical workers across Indonesia to help reduce children’s vulnerability to pneumonia and other preventable illnesses. With increased capacity, we could have helped prevent children like Septian,…
Indonesia
