Eliminating the top two causes of death in children

You have probably suffered from one or maybe two of the leading causes of death in children around the world. Thankfully, you are still alive. This means that the two illnesses, which together claim the lives of over a quarter of all children across the globe, are preventable. The deadly culprits? Pneumonia and diarrhea.

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health propose that these two causes could be eliminated by 2025, just over a decade from now. The report from The Lancet is a culmination of four papers compiling years of data on the topic.

The first paper compares the two illnesses and the burden they impart on global well being. It is a comprehensive examination of past global mortality statistics and projections for the future.

The second paper presents a variety of cost-efficient methods for reducing the number of deaths caused by diarrhea and pneumonia that could be implemented on a massive scale. These fifteen interventions, such as the promotion of zinc supplements, and an increase in vaccination, would move current statistics on child mortality into a downward trend.

The third paper compiles discussions with thousands of frontline workers in underdeveloped countries, who deal with the battles of resource availability everyday.

And finally, the fourth paper wraps up and consolidates the arguments presented in the first three to direct current efforts towards a more cohesive and comprehensive action plan in the fight against child mortality.

Robert Black, an Edgar Berman Professor in International Health at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and the author several of the papers important in the study, describes his contribution to the research.

“I am broadly involved in quantifying the disease burden and getting the best estimates we can on cause of death and illness of children in the world, evaluating interventions and looking at controls.”

He continues by explaining the goals and feasibility of the proposed program.

“It’s about controlling the conditions. The global action plan from WHO (The World Health Organization) and UNICEF (The United Nations Children’s Fund) that was launched at the same time as the paper has a similar plan for treating these diseases. Some of the treatments for pneumonia and diarrhea are the same, such as promoting healthy breastfeeding and fighting malnutrition. Others differ, such as vaccinations needed, antibiotics, etc.,” he said.

He also delved into the economic feasibility of these efforts. “These interventions are largely not very costly, aside from vaccines and water sanitation. Other implementations are not very costly, and are actually already being funded right now by current initiatives, so the most expensive parts are already being covered cost-wise,” he said.

The proposal, while rather ambitious, will inspire a reinvigoration in the work of current public health employees. The data supports simple and cost-effective interventions while resources are already in the process of being mobilized. The localization of the data into The Lancet series is a clearly articulated goal that will hopefully serve as a task-oriented guide for workers in the field and many of the non-profits that employ them.

As of now, Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia suffer the greatest casualties from such preventable conditions. The impact of these illnesses are generally overlooked because they are so easily treated in well-developed countries where malnutrition and unsanitary water are problems that have been largely eradicated for the general public. However, such solutions so easily taken for granted here in the US are not as readily attainable in other parts of the world. This new study hopes to change that reality.