(PRWEB) October 29, 2015
What: In advance of World Pneumonia Day, November 12, members of the press are invited to attend a briefing hosted by the United Nations Foundation featuring Dr. Namala Mkopi, pediatrician and child health specialist from Tanzania, and Leith Greenslade, Vice-Chair MDG Health Alliance, to discuss the challenges and successes of the pneumococcal vaccine for children in developing countries.
Journalists in attendance will receive firsthand accounts of the pneumococcal vaccine rollout in Tanzania, the progress in the fight against pneumonia in developing countries as well as the challenges to ending the number one infectious killer of children around the globe.
Background:
Pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of death in children worldwide, accounting for 15% of all deaths of children under 5 years old. Preventing pneumonia is an important focus of the UN and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, where it has become a critical component of reducing overall childhood mortality.
The global introduction of the pneumococcal vaccine marks an historic milestone in global health, as these new vaccines have been made accessible in record time to children in the world’s poorest countries.
When: Monday, November 9, 2015
10:00-11:00am
Where: United Nations Foundation
801 Second Avenue 9th floor
Between 42nd and 43rd streets
Who: Dr. Namala Mkopi, pediatrician and child health specialist
Leith Greenslade, Vice-Chair MDG Health Alliance
RSVP: RSVP required- Please confirm your attendance by emailing Andrea Sok at asok(at)unfoundation(dot)org no later than 5pm on Friday, Nov. 6.
# # #
About Shot@Life
Shot@Life, a campaign of the United Nations Foundation, educates, connects and empowers Americans to help protect children in developing countries from vaccine-preventable diseases. By joining this movement, you can help save a child’s life every 20 seconds by learning about, advocating for and donating vaccines to children who need them most. Go to ShotAtLife.org to learn more.
About the United Nations Foundation
The United Nations Foundation, a public charity, was created in 1998 with entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner’s historic $1 billion gift to support UN causes and activities. The UN Foundation builds and implements public/private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and works to broaden support for the UN through advocacy and public outreach. Through campaigns and partnerships, the organization connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The campaigns reduce child mortality, empower women and girls, create a new energy future, secure peace and human rights, and promote technology innovation to improve health outcomes. These solutions are helping the UN advance the eight global targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For more information, visit http://www.unfoundation.org.