Deputy Commissioner Noklak Hiazu Meru and Dr Victor, NC CMO in-charge of the District Health Society, Noklak, today launched Social Awareness and Action to Neutralize Pneumonia Successful (SAANS) 2022-23 at CMO, Noklak.
The launch was carried out on World Pneumonia Day which is observed on 12 November every year.
SAANS is a campaign aimed at creating greater awareness and early detection of childhood pneumonia.
In a brief speech, Meru said with health being a major public issue, all convergent departments should actively participate in creating health awareness at the grassroot level, he said.
While acknowledging the roles played by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs), he also emphasised on the importance of making the church as another platform to reach out to the general public to develop health seeking behaviour particularly for children under five years of age so as to reduce the infant mortality rate in the district.
The program was attended by church leaders, NGOs, convergent departments and staff from District Hospital and District Program Management Unit (DPMU) Noklak.
The SAANS campaign was launched on 16 November 2019 to initiate greater action towards reducing deaths caused by childhood pneumonia. The SAANS campaign is rolled out in the states and UTs every year with the focus on creating awareness around the protection, prevention and treatment aspects of childhood pneumonia and to promote early identification and care seeking behaviours among parents and caregivers.
Pneumonia, a lung infection caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi, is a treatable and preventable disease and yet, according to UNICEF, it is the world’s largest infectious killer of children. The lives of more than 700,000 children under the age of five, including over 153,000 newborns, are claimed by the disease every year.
World Pneumonia Day is observed every year to draw attention to this serious problem and encourage policy makers and grassroots organisers to take urgent action against this preventable disease.
