I was fortunate to join fellow mum bloggers and other people from traditional media to witness the launch of GSK’s No Hope Lost Campaign held at the Makati Shangril-la’s Paranaque AB Hall earlier this month. The event was graced by Barbie’s Cradle vocalist, mum Barbie Almalbis, who shared her scary experience when one of her children got hospitalized due to pneumonia. Also present in the event is resource person, Dr. Sally Gatchalian, Director of the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination, who enlightened us about the importance of having our children vaccinated, as well as clarified certain myths about vaccines and vaccination.

Pneumonia and diarrhea are the top 2 leading causes of mortality among Filipino children less than 5 years of age and the scenario is very much similar with the rest of the world. Losing a child is the most-heartbreaking experience any mother could ever have, it is beyond imaginable, in fact, that thankfully parents, and society in general, is doing anything to prevent the loss of their children. It is also good to know that both diseases can be prevented through vaccination.

Pneumonia in a nutshell

An estimated 37 Filipino children die of pneumonia every single day. It is, in fact, the single greatest cause of death in children less than 5 years old worldwide. Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung that primarily affects the microscopic air sacs alveoli. This is an infection caused by the bacterium S. pneumoniae, or what is popularly known as pneumococcus, which in turn can lead to life-threatening conditions such as pneumonia. This bacterium can also result to Acute Otitis Media {or AOM}, a common and highly prevalent ear infection. When pneumococcus invades the blood, it can also result to severe medical conditions such as meningitis, complicated pneumonia, as well as sepsis or blood poisoning. These invasive forms of the pneumococcal disease are categorize into Invasive Pneumococcal Disease or IPD}.

Symptoms of pneumonia include:

• rapid or difficult breathing
• cough
• fever
• chills
• headache
• loss of appetite
• wheezing

Diarrhea in a nutshell

Diarrhea is the second leading killer of children under 5 years of age globally. There is a registered 1.4 million child deaths yearly because of this disease. The common cause of diarrhea and severe dehydration in young children is Rotavirus Gastroenteritis {RVGE}. This is also the leading cause of diarrheal hospitalization and deaths among children and is considered most severe in infants aged 3-24 months.

Rotavirus is dubbed as a “democratic virus,” affecting virtually every child during the first 5 years of life, regardless of race or socio-economic status. In the Philippines, diarrhea is the second leading cause of child mortality resulting to more than 13 Filipino children dying due to diarrhea every day, or to almost 5,000 deaths yearly.

Prevention is Better Than Cure

Early protection is the key to prevent penumonia and rotavirus disease. No child has to die because of these diseases as they are both highly-preventable. Raising awareness about these diseases is a very effective way to combat them and hopefully eradicate them in the future.

Ways to Protect Children Against Pneumomia and Diarrhea:

• breastfeeding
• constant hand washing
• cleaning your immediate environment and preventing air pollution
• providing adequate nutrition
• vaccination

Available Vaccines for Pneumonia and Diarrhea