Nairobi: Medical experts, development partners, and government representatives have called for renewed efforts to fight pneumonia, the leading infectious killer of children worldwide. During a media sensitisation meeting on childhood pneumonia held today in Nairobi ahead of World Pneumonia Day to be marked on November 12, 2025, participants stressed the urgent need to raise awareness on the causes, prevention, and treatment of pneumonia while promoting early care-seeking behaviour among parents and caregivers.
According to Kenya News Agency, the meeting brought together a six-member expert panel featuring representatives from the Ministry of Health, County Governments, UNICEF, WHO, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), and academia through the Kenya Paediatric Association (KPA). Each panellist provided insights on interventions and strategies aimed at reducing pneumonia-related deaths.
Dr Stephen Muleshe, Head of the Department of Intergovernmental Relations and Regional Coordination at the Ministry of Health, said the Government has introduced and scaled up interventions aligned to the M1A framework of prevent, protect, and treat. “Some of these interventions include vaccines against pneumonia, access to amoxicillin tablets, and integrated management of human and child illnesses,” he said.
Dr Muleshe highlighted a new government approach emphasising preventive rather than curative care. Senior primary care networks have been established across several counties. “This is organised through a hub-and-support model, linking community units and smaller dispensaries to referral hubs, ensuring continuity of care for children showing symptoms of pneumonia,” he explained.
Concern was raised over vaccine coverage, which currently stands at 55 per cent, with northern counties lagging while southern regions report higher uptake. Dr Juliet Omwoha, a paediatrician at the Ministry of Health, clarified that immunisation distribution is standard nationwide, but vaccine hesitancy remains the main challenge. “Parents’ understanding and acceptance determine whether a child receives immunisation,” she said.
The panel also reviewed the global and national pneumonia situation, highlighting alarming statistics. Globally, a child dies of pneumonia every 43 seconds, about 84 every hour, 2,916 daily, and more than 735,000 annually, including approximately 200,000 newborns. In Kenya, pneumonia remains a leading cause of child mortality, responsible for 12 per cent of deaths among children aged 1-59 months and 3 per cent of neonatal deaths, together accounting for 15 per cent of under-five fatalities.
Dr Makeba Shiroya, Paediatrician and Public Health Specialist at WHO, emphasised the importance of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV 10), administered in three doses at 6, 10, and 14 weeks to protect children from severe pneumococcal disease. The panel also highlighted the role of indoor ventilation, good nutrition, and timely access to healthcare in reducing pneumonia cases.
This year’s World Pneumonia Day theme, ‘Defeat Pneumonia: Every Breath Counts; Every Action Matters’, calls for collective responsibility across all sectors to end preventable child deaths. Stakeholders emphasised that pneumonia, though deadly, is preventable and treatable through simple interventions, including exclusive breastfeeding, immunisation, proper nutrition, hand hygiene, reduced indoor air pollution, and prompt medical attention for respiratory symptoms.
As Kenya joins the world in marking World Pneumonia Day 2025, the message remains clear: every breath truly counts, and every action, from community to national level, matters in saving children’s lives.