The epidemiological laboratory (Epi-Lab) and Sudan association of pediatricians (SAP) in Sudan has the initiative to call for celebrating the world pneumonia day in Sudan this year.

Pneumonia kills a child every 15 minutes, its mortality and morbidity is still high especially in the developing countries. In order to cope with the millennium development goal 4 (MDG 4) which aims to reduce child mortality rate by two thirds by year 2015, the first world pneumonia day was invented by the World Pneumonia Day coalition to draw the attention of the world to a major cause of mortality in childhood. Pneumonia is responsible of one third of infant deaths and 15% if the under 5 mortality rate and this makes it the leading cause of child deaths in the low income countries ⁽¹⁾.

In Sudan, it is responsible for 17% of the under 5 deaths ⁽²⁾.  The absence of pneumonia vaccination scheme and standard case management for children with pneumonia are regarded as the cause of most of the unfavorable outcomes including deaths.

Objectives:

1. To bring much of the needed attention to pneumonia as a lethal disease.
2. To draw the attention of the policy makers, stakeholders, and media to the burden of pneumonia.
3. To spread health education messages about pneumonia to the community.
4. To introduce the call for pneumonia vaccine to be part of the national vaccination scheme.
5. To support the adoption of the Standard Case Management of pneumonia among health personnel and conduct a qualitative training to selected group of health activists.  

Tools and techniques:

1. Media Campaign:

Date: 5 –12 \ 11\2010.

• Interviews with senior health activists about child health in general with emphasis on pneumonia as a leading cause of death in childhood. 
• Fix health education messages regarding pneumonia through newspapers during that period.

2. PNEUMONIA EPIDEMIOLOGY, BURDEN & SCM WORKSHOP:

Venue: OMDORMAN EMERGENCY PAEDIATRICS TEACHING

HOSPITAL

Time:     7\11\2010 -9\11\2010

Fight pneumonia Marsh

Venue: Marsh from youth & children's palace to Sudanese Parliament's yard.  Time:  Thursday 11\11\2010

Health education on media about pneumonia & pneumococcal vaccination:

Venue& time: Friday 12\11\2010 on BLUE Nile TV

Publication of world pneumonia day & spreading the event through the community

 Method: daily newspapers

SMS from the server in cellular phones 

Time:3 days prior the celebration day