HealthOnTrack

Pneumonia is a disease of poverty and kills more young children than any other disease. Certain conditions such as malnutrition and poor living conditions allows it to spread – for the billions of children in need across the world and especially in the Philippines, simple measures are now being put into place which will save countless lives. If pneumonia is caught early then a simple treatment of antibiotics will save their life; if not then death is a certainty as the disease ravages the immune system. In many of the towns, there is only one doctor to service thousands of individuals and the lack of availability can lead to an increase in the rate of infection.

Health workers are now being employed and along with midwifes are being sent out into their communities as the disease is especially rampant in the poorest of areas. For the children most in need, the biggest cause of pneumonia is poverty. The people of these poorer areas have to remain strong as their only means of income is capital raised from farming. Their methods of testing are archaic compared to modern standards, but it does work within the context of the communities. They use a watch and measure how many breaths each child takes – anything over fourty could indicate a sign of pneumonia. Thankfully, this measurement will allow the healthcare workers to distribute antibiotics to the children in need.

These local health workers are now happy that they can apply the new knowledge of pneumonia and apply it to their own children, as well as the children and residents of the neighborhood. For the children in need who require the best in care and the medicine which can save their lives precious, antibiotics and forward thinking from the communities is the only solution. Rockhopper TV will continue to cover the lives of these people of the Philippines.