New York - The World Health Organization launched on Monday a programme to save 5.3 million children from dying of pneumonia by 2015, but the cumulative bill amounts to a whopping 39 billion dollars for a five-year period beginning next year. Pneumonia kills an estimate 1.8 million children under 5 years of age each year, with almost all the deaths occurring in developing countries, WHO and the UN Children's Fund said.
"This action plan provides the strategy to prevent and control pneumonia, which today kills more children than any other illness," said Margaret Chan, WHO director general.
"We know the strategy will work, and if it is applied in every high burden country, we will be able to prevent millions of deaths," she said.
The strategy calls for a protective environment for children like breast feeding for the first six months, adequate nutrition, reduced indoor pollution and frequent hand washing. Other measures call for vaccination and the right care for children who become ill with pneumonia in healthcare centres and hospitals.
