Cairo, Egypt, October 26, 2011: In line with global actions taken towards combating pneumonia and the “Protection Is Their Right” initiative, Alashanek Ya Balady Association for Sustainable Development (AYB-SD) is holding a festival to celebrate World Pneumonia Day 2011 for the first time on a large scale in Egypt, on November 12, 2011. The “World Pneumonia Day 2011 Festival” will be held in El Gezira Youth Center, from 10 am to 11:30 pm.
World Pneumonia Day (WPD) has been celebrated globally for the past two years on November 12. The initiative was taken by The Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia, which was established in April 2009, to encourage efforts to combat the disease among donors, policy makers, healthcare professionals and the general public.
This year, Egypt’s WPD 2011 Festival will include awareness about the disease, prevention methods, hygiene tips and many more fun activities for children and families. A large kids’ corner will be available, with exciting activities and games teaching children about health and hygiene during daytime. In addition, an “open mic” performance will be provided by “Mashroo’ El Marreekh”, where anyone with family friendly talent is welcome to perform. By sundown, a live band line up will start to play, featuring CairoKee, Nagham Masry, Masar Egbary, as well as others.
All proceeds and contributions will go towards vaccinating at least 10,000 impoverished children against pneumonia, in line with the “Protection is Their Right” initiative, implemented by AYB-SD, in partnership with the Egyptian Pharmaceutical Students' Federation (EPSF) and under the auspices of the Egyptian Pediatrics Association (EPA), which is a five-year long initiative aiming to reduce child mortality in Egypt through combating life threatening diseases, in line with Millennium Development Goal number four to reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under five mortality rate.
This initiative stresses upon the role of individuals in community development through contributing to keeping Egypt’s children healthy and disease-free, and spreading awareness about the initiative and pneumonia.
Furthermore, Phizer, the festival’s main sponsor, has donated 30,000 doses of the Prevenar vaccine to the initiative, targeted towards vaccinating impoverished, high risk children, against pneumococcal diseases and pneumonia.
According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Health Statistics report of 2010, Pneumonia is the number one disease responsible for under-five child mortality in Egypt, constituting 11% of child deaths in 2008.
According to Dr. Hamed El Khayat, Professor of Pediatrics, pneumonia is a form of severe respiratory infection affecting the lungs, and is considered the among the top causes of under-five child mortality all over the world, claiming the lives of nearly 1.8 million children under five years of age annually, which constitutes 20% of child deaths within this range worldwide. There are about 155 million cases of child pneumonia per year globally.
Vaccination has a vital role to play, especially that it is available and accessible, affirms Dr. Sherif Abdel Aal, Pediatrics Consultant and Assistant Secretary General of the Egyptian Pediatrics Association. He further assures that vaccination against pneumonia also prevents from otitis media and meningitis, with similar side effects as any other vaccination a child receives.
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For more information and updates about “Protection is Their Right”, please visit:
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“Alashanek Ya Balady” Association for Sustainable Development
“Alashanek Ya Balady” Association for Sustainable Development (AYB-SD) is one of the most innovative, dynamic, and successful youth NGOs in Egypt. AYB-SD aims to create an economically independent society and promotes youth engagement in sustainable development through creating innovative regional models The organization is committed to the economic empowerment of underprivileged communities. AYB-SD offers training, personal coaching, formal employment opportunities, and loans, while striving to promote volunteerism in community development and fostering private and public partnerships.
For more information, please contact:
Rama Maher
Senior Communications Officer
Mobile: 015-1221-9070
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Alashanek ya Balady Association for Sustainable Development (AYB-SD)
Head Office: Villa 20, Street 106. Maadi. Cairo, Egypt.
Tel and Fax: (+202) 25253213
Website: www.ayb-sd.org
