Can innovation help stop children dying from pneumonia?
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Pneumonia is the world’s number one cause of preventable death among children under five years old. Every year, pneumonia kills nearly one million children – more than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. What makes this number of pneumonia deaths so unfathomable is that its cure is well-known, inexpensive and widely available.
Amoxicillin has long been held as a basic, effective antibiotic treatment for bacterial pneumonia, believed to account for 80% of pneumonia deaths among children. Even if children live in places where there is no doctor or clinic, amoxicillin can be obtained through a community health worker. If amoxicillin can cure bacterial pneumonia, why does pneumonia continue to claim so many young lives?
Source: Unicef (link opens in a new window)
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