Myanmar, 4th May 2011

Princess Inaara Foundation in partnership with the German charitable Foundation “Ein Herz für Kinder” (A Heart for Children) saves the lives of thousands of children in Myanmar. Over 155.000 children treated in 2010 against the biggest killer of children under five: Pneumonia

Over 2 million children under the age of 5 die from pneumonia each year worldwide. Very few people know that pneumonia kills more children than any other illness – more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined, yet it has received far less attention and funding than any of the other diseases.

With a population of approximately 55 million, Myanmar is one of the most beautiful countries on earth, rich in natural resources, and yet is one of the least developed and poorest countries in Asia, and is classified by the United Nations as one of the 49 least developed countries. Myanmar has the lowest level of public funding for health in the world. In Myanmar, hundreds of children under the age of five die every day of acute respiratory infections. In 2011, pneumonia remains the leading cause of death of children under five in Myanmar.

For several years, Princess Inaara´s US development partner, PSI (Population Services International) has successfully established health and social programmes to save thousands of lives in Myanmar. Tapping into their network of trained professionals, Princess Inaara´s goal is to deliver pneumonia prevention and treatment programmes for young children to reduce child mortality in Myanmar.

Since April 2010, with the support and funding from Princess Inaara Foundation and the German charitable organisation “Ein Herz für Kinder” (“A heart for children”), PSI Myanmar provided pneumonia prevention advice to about 20.000 parents or child carers, concerning diagnosis and treatment. Over 155.000 pneumonia treatments were delivered to children under the age of 5 not just in urban areas, but also to the most remote regions of the country.

The project will enter its second year by the end of April 2011. The goal is to increase the awareness among the vulnerable in Myanmar, to understand the symptoms of pneumonia and to increase their ability and motivation to seek and use correct treatment for their children.

For year 2 of the programme it is planned to distribute at least 207,000 treatments to children under 5 and pneumonia prevention education will be provided to an estimated 60,000 parents or child carers through approx. 15,000 advisory sessions at the local village level as well as broad communication campaigns through mass media and educational information material. Adults will be trained to recognise the symptoms and the danger of the deadly disease. They will also be educated about behaviour changes to hygiene, healthy nutrition and specific actions such as vaccination, that may help prevent the outbreak of pneumonia. Finally they will receive advice on how to treat their children correctly in the event of an outbreak of pneumonia.

The overarching goal of this project is to reduce pneumonia related morbidity and mortality among children of five and under in Myanmar, one of the 8 Global Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Given Myanmar is the country with the highest child mortality rate in the world, achieving the MDG on Child mortality in Myanmar by fighting against pneumonia continues to require urgent action.