November 12 was declared World Pneumonia Day by the World Health Organization in 2008. The purpose was to raise awareness about the importance of hygiene in the prevention of the disease and to encourage the health care officials to broaden current healing methods and bring in new diagnostic and treatment tools to help successfully control this disease afflicting the children.
Pneumonia is the principal cause of death among children under five years of age in the Third World. More children fall victim to pneumonia than to AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis all together. In 2012, 1.1 million children under five years died of pneumonia in the developing countries. The number consisted mostly of children younger than two years old and those who could not receive proper medical care.
