‘All-hands-on-deck’ needed to STOP Pneumonia – Together
Health leaders and key decision-makers from all over the country commemorated “World Pneumonia Day 2022” recently with calls for a unified effort among all stakeholders and increased awareness about the importance of getting vaccinated to lower the risks of acquiring the dreaded disease.
In a scientific symposium and multi-stakeholder forum organized by MSD in the Philippines and the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination (PFV) , more than 50 local and national scientific leaders and health practitioners pledged their support to a nationwide campaign dubbed “Championing the Fight to STOP Pneumonia – Together,” which aims to stop deaths caused by pneumonia by 2030.
The commitment exercise was led by stalwarts of PFV, Dr. Lulu Bravo, its executive director and founding president, and Dr. Maria Rosario Capeding, its president.
Joining them during the ceremony were vice chair of the House Committee on Health, Hon. Janette Garin, Dr. Israel Pargas, senior vice president of PHILHEALTH, Dr. Fatima Gimenez, president of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines (PIDSP), Dr. Rontgene Solante, PFV voard member, Dr. Nep Ordonez, president of the Philippine Academy for Pediatric Pulmonologists (PAPP), Dr. Kim Patrick Tejano, National Immunization Program Manager for Department of Health, Dr. Bettina Santos, PFV secretary and Mr. Bryan Posadas, PFV board member and former Immunizing Pharmacist Certification program manager. Also present were Andreas Riedel, President and Managing Director of MSD in the Philippines and Dr. Mary Ann Galang-Escalona, Country Medical Lead of MSD in the Philippines.
Origins of the global fight to stop pneumonia
The event began with Dr. Bravo recalling the very first celebration of World Pneumonia Day on November 2, 2009, with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in New York inviting just five physicians from the Philippines to the event. “It consisted of a much smaller group than the one that we have today,” she narrated, “but at that time, pneumonia has somehow been forgotten, although cases had kept on increasing between 2000 to 2009. The intention of that very first multi-stakeholder gathering was to tell the world pneumonia is the number one killer of children in the world.”
The United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) noted that since 2000, 34 million children have already died from pneumonia and diarrhea. It predicted that without further investment in key prevention and treatment measures, many more children could die by 2030. This grim prediction is further validated by Johns Hopkins University, which reported that pneumonia could be on course to kill 11 million more children by 2030. This year’s celebration of World Pneumonia Day in the Philippines and the world over tries to prevent this exact same scenario from happening.
#StopPneumoniaTogether: Prevention and Treatment
As the scientific symposium progressed, more health experts were called onstage to share their views on the vital role that each sector can play to stop pneumonia, which has since remained a serious health issue worldwide. Aside from children, pneumonia has afflicted older adults as well, with 1.3 million people aged 70 years old and above reported to have died from the disease.
In the first segment dubbed Prevention, event host and seasoned broadcast journalist Jing Castaneda asked the trio of Dr. Tejano (NIP), Dr. Gimenez (PIDSP), and Mr. Posadas (PFV) how their organizations are helping raise awareness on the importance of vaccination in the fight against pneumonia – the 7th leading cause of death in the country in 2021.
Dr. Tejano talked about the government’s immunization program, which was established to ensure that children and mothers will have access to the recommended vaccines. He also talked about their ongoing vaccination program for the elderly, noting that Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines (PCV) and Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccines (PPSV) are still the most recommended vaccines for people aged 50 and above. “Vaccination,” he states, “is still one of the most important tools to prevent pneumonia. When you have the right type of protection, you will actually have a strong chance of preventing getting infection.”
For her part, Dr. Gimenez said that if there’s one thing that COVID has brought out, it’s the realization on how vaccination can help. However, she lamented the fact that despite the health sector’s efforts, there still doesn’t seem to be any improvement in the statistics. “Pneumonia is still the no. 1 killer in children, and we just add to the statistics every year.”
She also pointed to a seeming lack of political will by those in power to affect real change. “Much as we want to protect the entire population, there are still a lot of challenges that we need to overcome. It should be ‘all-hands-on-deck,’” Dr. Gimenez averred.
As if on cue, Mr. Posadas chimed in, saying, “Lahat tayo may role (we all have a part in this). There are actually a number of channels, not just through the hospitals, but also through pharmacies.” He adds that a number of pharmacists nationwide are now being trained and certified to become immunizers to expand the network of allied healthcare professionals. “Indigent senior citizens can also get their free pneumococcal vaccinations through the barangay health centers of their local government units.”
Next called were Dr. Pargas (PHILHEALTH) and Dr. Ordonez (PAPP), who shared their thoughts on the importance of Diagnosis and Treatment. Dr.Ordonez explained that among the early signs of pneumonia are cough, colds and fever. “Once a patient starts turning bluish, it means that the oxygen level in the brain has already gone down. At this point, there is a big chance that it’s pneumonia, which could have been caused by a virus, fungi, or a bacterial infection. We need to know the cause so the right treatment can be made. Like we always say, early detection and treatment remain the key.”
On the part of PHILHEALTH, Dr. Pargas said that a number of in-patient and out-patient packages have already been put in place. “We’re currently reviewing our packages, and are just waiting for the results of our study. Pero number one diyan pneumonia,” he says. “Right now, it’s important for us to collaborate so there’d be synergy in all our efforts. Pare-pareho lang naman tinatahak natin, especially in policy development.”
Dr. Pargas’ sentiment was shared by the last set panelists made up of Dr. Santos (PFV), Dr. Solante (PFV), and Rep. Garin of Iloilo. “We are not happy that pneumonia is still there, but we would like people to know that there are interventions coming in,” Dr. Santos said. “Yung work namin at yung work ng iba, kapag pinagsama-sama, malayo ang mararating,” she adds.
In Dr. Solante’s case, he said, “One out of 10 of my patients still don’t know that there is already a vaccine against pneumonia. That’s a big challenge on my part. And it also means we still have a long way to go to meet the goal of stopping pneumonia by 2030. But at least, awareness is already being created — medyo mababa pa nga lang.”
Rep. Garin, meanwhile, laid out plans to develop the country’s current healthcare system. “We’ve been informing people of vaccines available and the different treatments. We are also helping raise awareness through webinars. Hindi rin kinukulang ang batas natin, tulad ng Senior Citizen’s Act at Universal Healthcare. The only problem is that they should be implemented in a timely manner. So, can we end pneumonia by 2030? Perhaps not yet, but we are slowly getting there,” she said.
At the end of the day, this year’s World Pneumonia Day celebration provided a golden opportunity for all stakeholders to raise awareness about the burden of pneumonia, and how we can all work together to prevent the further spread of this life-threatening disease – through a concerted effort to raise awareness, prevention through vaccination, early diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and spreading timely information about the disease.
