Want to Save a Million Lives a Year? Just Buy Wine

The calender for a committed global health activist can be quite full. There’s World Malaria Day in April, World AIDS Day in December, World Tuberculosis Day in March. The Department of Health and Human Services tallies at least 14 more international public health awareness days.

That might provide some solace if, like me, you missed World Pneumonia Day on Nov. 12.

The scourge of pneumonia needs all the attention it can get. Pneumonia is responsible for killing more children each year than any other disease. In 15 of the most severely affected countries - all in Asia and Africa - more than 1.16 million children died from pneumonia or related causes in 2008, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

But unlike diseases that get more media and celebrity attention, there were no large-scale efforts to set prevention standards based on proven interventions until relatively recently. This is especially confounding given that relatively straightforward steps could reduce pneumonia mortality by more than half, among them: encouraging breastfeeding, consistent tracking and case management of patients and, most critically, the consistent use of relevant vaccines.

But the public health community is catching up. Last year the WHO and UNICEF released the Global Action Plan for Prevention & Control of Pneumonia (more commonly called the GAPP), highlighting the above recommendations and tracking their implementation in the 15 countries with the most pneumonia deaths through a new annual Pneumonia Report Card.

The results were not sparkling. All 15 of the countries need critical improvements in pneumonia control and prevention. But on some fronts, there are encouraging signs. Most of these countries’ public health systems already provide regular measles and pertussis vaccines, so if pertinent pneumonia vaccines are also available, they can easily be included in immunization visits.

The critical question, at least on the immunization front, is whether the vaccines will be available. The GAPP Report Card countries are receiving significant support from the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation (GAVI Alliance). But, like many global public health initiatives, GAVI has neither enough money nor enough publicity behind its efforts.

They’re looking to change that, which is where you come in. GAVI, leading a widespread coalition, used World Pneumonia Day as a launchpad for myriad initiatives to raise money and broadcast the importance of continuing to fight pneumonia.

What can you do to help save more than a million lives?

Buy wine, my friends. Through a partnership with a dozen wineries, each case of syrah wine you buy this month results in a $10 donation to GAVI - the cost of one immunization. Check out which wines to buy and where you can get them here.

If your wine rack is fully stocked, you can donate the $10 directly to GAVI here, or help raise awareness about pneumonia’s impact and the work organizations like GAVI are doing by plugging into their nascent social networking campaigns.

There are many easy ways for you to show your commitment to fighting the spread of pneumonia, regardless of what day it is.

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