PSI

Pneumonia is the leading killer of children under five worldwide, causing the death of one child every 15 seconds. The majority of these deaths occur in Africa and South-East Asia. Childhood deaths caused by pneumonia are greater than those caused by malaria, HIV, and measles combined.

Pneumonia is a form of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) that affects the lungs and in the majority of cases in developing countries is caused by bacterial pathogens. As pneumonia is the most prevalent cause of mortality relative to ARI, the terms are often used interchangeably in the developing world. While fever with fast breathing and a cough are the main symptoms of non-severe pneumonia, children with severe pneumonia will experience lower chest in-drawing (chest moving in while inhaling). If treatment is delayed, the child will struggle to breathe, and the infection can become fatal. However, with the appropriate antibiotics, pneumonia is easily treated. With effective treatment and prevention interventions, 1.6 million deaths in children under five can be avoided each year.

In order to achieve the ambitious fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG4) to reduce child mortality by two-thirds by 2015, PSI seeks to scale up key proven interventions that contribute to reducing the burden of childhood pneumonia. PSI is currently piloting pneumonia treatment programs that aim to increase access to and demand for pneumonia treatment, ultimately reducing mortality in children under five. PSI has developed an innovative pre-packaged kit including an oral antibiotic therapy with illustrated instructions designed to help caregivers treat pneumonia at home.

A leader in behavior change communication, PSI also conducts comprehensive communication campaigns to raise awareness about the availability of effective pneumonia treatment products. These campaigns also aim to improve the ability of caregivers of children under five to recognize pneumonia symptoms and promptly seek care and complete treatment.

Read the Ukranian translation of this page here. Translated by Sofya Kravchuk.

Pneumonia Prevention

PSI uses behavior change techniques and communications to promote pneumonia prevention. PSI/Madagascar disseminates messages around pneumonia prevention, including promotion of exclusive breastfeeding, complete vaccination by age one, proper hand washing, and good indoor air quality, through local media (TV, radio), printed material and interpersonal communication. PSI partners with local NGOs and trains community health workers to deliver these integrated messages to caregivers of children.

Pneumonia Treatment

Early, pre-packaged treatment of Pneumonia

Only 1 in 5 caregivers know the two key symptoms of pneumonia and less than half of children with symptoms of pneumonia are taken to an appropriate provider with only a quarter receiving antibiotics. Early diagnosis and treatment with simple antibiotics can prevent a large proportion of deaths caused by pneumonia. Recognizing symptoms of pneumonia is the first step in reducing deaths among children under five. PSI targets caregivers of children under five through mass media and interpersonal communication aimed at increasing their knowledge about pneumonia symptoms and severity signs, in order to motivate them to seek appropriate care when a child has a cough with rapid breathing.

Improving Pneumonia diagnostics and treatment

Beyond educating caregivers about symptoms of pneumonia, PSI also informs caregivers about the place where pneumonia treatment is available from a health provider. In combination with case management and behavior change communication activities, and as a means to improve health providers’ skills on case management, PSI works with local partners to train medical providers from health clinics on health promotion and pneumonia case management in line with the IMCI protocol. PSI also helps to train and equip community health workers to improve their ability to provide information on pneumonia prevention and to manage pneumonia cases.

In order to manage pneumonia cases in children under five, PSI has developed pre-packaged therapy (PPT) kits that are distributed through private clinics and community level. In line with WHO guidelines, the PPT kit contains the optimal quantity of oral antibiotic for a one-course treatment of a pneumonia episode. The medicine is a pediatric, dispersible and flavored formulation, packaged in the strength and dosage suitable for 2 age groups of children (2-11 mos and 1-5 yrs). The kit includes instructions for use in the local languages with simple illustration so that illiterate people are also able to understand the dosing.

How We Work

In order to administer treatment and facilitate pneumonia education, PSI utilizes two channels of distribution:

• Franchise Private Providers
• Community Case Management