May 04, 2012
Pneumococcal disease is a leading cause of death for children under 5, particularly in developing countries. Using data from a 2000 WHO study, this graph shows the number of deaths per 100,000 children under 5 attributable to invasive pneumococcal disease, across six countries. Pneumococcal disease is frequently vaccine-preventable. Kenya, Ghana, and Pakistan have GAVI Alliance support to implement pneumococcal vaccination programs, and Kenya and Ghana have already introduced the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (in February 2011 and April 2012, respectively). Research suggests that India could also reduce the burden of pneumococcal disease, particularly in the most affected regions, by scaling up access to vaccines and appropriate antibiotic treatments.
