The Uttar Pradesh government has launched a vaccination campaign in six of its districts where by children receive free vaccines against pneumonia to combat the threat.
The districts to be covered in the first phase are Kheri, Sitapur, Siddharthnagar, Bahraich, Balrampur and Shravasti.Pneumonia, an infection of the lungs, is the single largest killer of over 10-lakh children under five years of age across the world.
Around 27,800 children die of it every year in the State. In view of this, the State has been selected by the EU Health Ministry to include the pneumonia vaccine - Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines (PCV) - as part of the Universal Immunization Program (UIP).
Dr Madhup Bajpai, head of WHO, UP Region, said that all children should get this one-shot vaccine whenever their district is included. "The vaccine costs around Rs 4,000 in the private sector whereas it is free under the UIP," he said.
"Preventing pneumonia in children is an essential part of the strategy to reduce infant mortality. Vaccination against Hib, pneumococcus, measles and whooping cough is the most effective way to prevent pneumonia, "officials said.
