Wake-up call on child pneumonia in India

(November 20, 2010) Children are dying needlessly from pneumonia due to poor co-ordination of existing resources, Church health activists say. “It is very sad to see several children die of pneumonia – and diarrhea - when we boast of the latest technology in health care service,” says Father Mathew Abraham Puthenchirayil secretary Catholic Bishops´ Conference of India (CBCI) Health Commission. Many Catholic women Religious are in the forefront of the fight against infectious diseases among children, the priest said. “But the Church alone cannot do the work. We have to come together to fight the diseases,” he said. “We have the resource and manpower but lack primary health care facilities,” the priest added. India accounts for a quarter of global pneumonia deaths, the International Vaccine Access Centre reported on behalf of the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia. The disease is the world’s leading killer of children under five, claiming the lives of nearly 1.6 million every year. The report calls for urgent efforts in India to prevent and treat pneumonia in children. James Veliath, who has been working with Church healthcare agencies, said that the state and national governments have failed to understand the seriousness of the situation and check the disease. He wants the government and NGOs involved in healthcare to come together to fight disease.