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Pneumococcal vaccine reaching one of Africa's largest countries

DRC pneumo rollout ministers 04042011

From left to right: Minister of Health, First Lady, Minister of Women, Family and Gender during the opening ceremony. Source: Cornelia Walther/UNICEF/2011.




Globally, pneumococcal disease, the most common and serious form of respiratory infections,  kills over a million of people every year - including more than half a million children before their fifth birthday. It is the leading cause of pneumonia, which is the major cause of death among children aged below 5 years, contributing to 18 percent of under five deaths in developing countries.

"Today's launch is an enormous moment for my country, where too many children die of this terrible disease," said Mr Kaput. "Pneumonia causes suffering and death. Therefore we celebrate a wonderful day today. The global introduction of pneumococcal vaccination is a milestone in global health and will help us reduce child mortality." 

"The introduction of the pneumococcal vaccine and the systematic immunization of the children could save the life of 1 in 5 children dying from respiratory infectious diseases", said Dr Léodégal Bazira, acting WHO Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

With the second highest child mortality rates in world DRC faces major health challenges. A study conducted in 2004 by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) revealed that pneumonia killed at least 132,000 children under five in the country, making it the second biggest cause of death amongst under five children in the country after malaria. Only 42% of children suspected to have pneumonia are taken to an appropriate healthcare provider.

"With electricity, roads, and refrigerators in short supply, delivering vaccines to remote health centers in DRC is an enormous challenge," said Pierrette Vu Thi, UNICEF Representative in DR Congo. "Together with its partners UNICEF is committed to ensure that all children in this country have the same access to this life-saving vaccine".





GAVI needs an additional US$ 3.7 billion over the next five years to continue its support for immunization in the world's poorest countries and introduce new and underused vaccines including the pneumococcal vaccine and the rotavirus vaccine which tackles diarrhoea - the second biggest killer of children under five.




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