Global statements of support
Dr. Koki Agarwal, Director, Maternal & Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP)
Dr. Greg Allgood, Director and Founder, Proctor & Gamble Children’s Safe Drinking Water Programme
Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance
Dr. Thomas Brewer, Deputy Director on the Enteric and Diarrheal Diseases team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
John Cahill, CEO, McCann Health
Raymond Chambers, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Financing of the Health Related Millennium Development Goals and for Malaria
Dr. Ciro A. de Quadros, Executive Vice President of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Co-chair of the Rotavirus Organization of Technical Allies (ROTA) Council
Michael Elliott, President and CEO, The ONE Campaign
Dr. William Foege, Professor of International Health, Emory University and Gates Fellow
Dr. Julio Frenk, Dean of the Faculty, Harvard School of Public Health
Rana Hajjeh, Director, Division of Bacterial Diseases, US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Karl Hofmann, President and CEO, PSI
Dr. William Keenan, Executive Director of the International Paediatric Association
Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, UN
Dr. Jim Yong Kim, President, World Bank
Don Lindsay, President and CEO of Teck Resources
Venkatesh Mannar, President, The Micronutrient Initiative
Dr. Thomas K. McInerny, MD, FAAP, President, American Academy of Paediatrics
Mandy Moore, singer-songwriter/actress; Global Ambassador for PSI
Dr. Tony Nelson, Professor of Paediatrics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever
Dr. Hans Rosling, Professor of Global Health at the Karolinska Institutet, Statistician, co-founder of the Gapminder Foundation
Dr. Mathuram Santosham, Professor of International Health and Paediatrics at the John Hopkins School of Public Health and co-chair of the ROTA Council
Dr. Anne Schuchat, Assistant Surgeon General, US Public Health Service and Acting Director, US CDC
Cynthia G. Whitney, Branch Chief, Respiratory Diseases, US CDC
Andrew Witty, CEO, GlaxoSmithKline
Dr. Koki Agarwal, Director, Maternal & Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP)
“I extend my support to the release of the Global Action Plan of the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD),” said Dr. Koki Agarwal, director of USAID’s Maternal & Child Health Integrated Programme (MCHIP) Jhpiego. “The GAPPD provides a framework to prevent and treat disease in children using proven interventions that have already contributed to major reductions in child mortality. Aligned with MCHIP’s mission to utilize an integrated approach across health programmes, this first-ever unified effort to protect children from two leading killers at once—pneumonia and diarrhoea—will save countless lives and help countries achieve their Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4) targets.
Dr. Greg Allgood, Director and Founder, Proctor & Gamble Children’s Safe Drinking Water Programme
“The tools to save children’s lives are in our hands,” said Dr. Greg Allgood, director and founder of the P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program. “Clean drinking water, exclusive breastfeeding, adequate nutrition and basic hygiene practices like handwashing with soap are all proven to protect children from the deadliest threat that most children face – diarrhoea and pneumonia. I absolutely love the GAPPD because it uses an integrated approach to provide proven solutions at scale.”
Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance
“We need to integrate the life-saving immunisation that GAVI supports with treatment to prevent and control pneumonia and diarrhoea. Together with our partners, we can end the preventable deaths of more than two million children a year by 2025. GAVI welcomes the integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD) developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, two major GAVI Alliance partners, and released today in a special Lancet series.”
Dr. Thomas Brewer, Deputy Director on the Enteric and Diarrheal Diseases team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
“Thanks to new vaccines, improved sanitation, and more effective treatments, we have made great strides in tackling the leading killers of kids: pneumonia and severe diarrhoea,” said Dr. Thomas Brewer, deputy director on the Enteric and Diarrheal Diseases team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “But there is more work to be done and this new integrated approach shows how the world is uniting to give all children a healthy start to life.”
John Cahill, CEO, McCann Health
“The Global Action Plan shines a light on the twin challenges of educating families to recognize the danger signs of pneumonia and diarrhoea and encouraging them to seek care quickly from a qualified professional,” said John Cahill, CEO of McCann Health. “At McCann Health, we believe commercial approaches to ‘create demand’ for quality healthcare products and services will ultimately bend the curve and enable the world to achieve significant and sustainable reductions in child mortality. Using approaches we have refined over many decades with our private sector clients to understanding the fundamental ‘truths’ within individuals, and using this information to create effective communications directed toward vulnerable populations, a virtuous cycle of consumer empowerment and economic development is initiated that becomes self-reinforcing and enables entire communities to improve their quality of life.”
Raymond Chambers, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Financing of the Health Related Millennium Development Goals and for Malaria
“I congratulate WHO and UNICEF for launching the Integrated Global Action Plan on Pneumonia and Diarrhoea, two critical causes of child death that must be addressed in our quest to achieve the Millennium Development Goal on child mortality,”Raymond Chambers, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Financing of the Health Related Millennium Development Goals and for Malaria. “To achieve this goal, we must save the lives of 4.4 million children by the 31 December 2015 deadline. Accelerating progress dramatically against diarrheal deaths and pneumonia deaths – the latter of which in Africa can be tied to our efforts against malaria – will be critical to our collective effort, and I look forward to doing whatever I can to enable faster progress.”
Dr. Ciro A. de Quadros, Executive Vice President of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Co-chair of the Rotavirus Organization of Technical Allies (ROTA) Council
“When taking on big challenges like ending pneumonia and diarrhoea deaths in children, we must use every tool we have,” said Ciro A. de Quadros, executive vice president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and co-chair of the Rotavirus Organization of Technical Allies (ROTA) Council. “By fighting pneumonia and diarrhoea together with a comprehensive approach that includes vaccines—like rotavirus and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines—breastfeeding, good nutrition, access to safe drinking water, sanitation, better household air quality, oral rehydration therapy, zinc, antibiotics and oxygen, millions more lives can be saved.”
Michael Elliott, President and CEO, The ONE Campaign
“Where you were born shouldn’t dictate whether you live or die. Every child deserves a fair chance at a healthy life,” said Michael Elliott, president and CEO of the ONE Campaign. “Action is the answer and by prioritising the fight against pneumonia and diarrhoea, we can help give every child a fair start. We are firmly committed to building the political support and momentum needed to help countries make the GAPPD a reality.”
Dr. William Foege, Professor of International Health, Emory University and Gates Fellow
“My 14-year-old grandson, Max, recently asked, “If it is true that we lose thousands of children daily from preventable problems, why isn’t that the newspaper headline each day or the lead story in the nightly news?” said Dr. William Foege, Emeritus Presidential Distinguished Professor of International Health, Emory University and Gates Fellow. “It is an embarrassing question. While tremendous progress has been made over the last 20 years and millions of children’s lives have been saved, we simply have not done our best. But now we hold in our hands proven solutions to protect the world’s most vulnerable children from the biggest threats they face. We can make pneumonia and diarrhoea part of history rather than part of their present. But the power of science is in its use. It is the use of these tools that will define us. As Primo Levi taught us, if we have the power to prevent torture and don’t use it, we become the torturers.”
Dr. Julio Frenk, Dean of the Faculty, Harvard School of Public Health
“Ending preventable child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoeal disease is not just good public health, it’s the right thing to do,” said Dr. Julio Frenk, Dean of the Faculty at the Harvard School of Public Health. “With the release of the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD), we have a tool in place to combat these preventable illnesses once and for all. If we do this right, the ripple effects for equity, education and poverty reduction could be monumental. Implementation of the GAPPD—and our collective ability to save millions of lives—will require focused interventions that make safe drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, nutrition, primary health care and health information and education available to everyone. The GAPPD is a key piece of the puzzle, and now is the time to make it matter.”
Rana Hajjeh, Director, Division of Bacterial Diseases, US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
“Too many children all over the world are still dying from pneumonia and diarrhoea,” said Anne Schuchat, assistant surgeon general, United States Public Health Service and acting director, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Center for Global Health and Rana Hajjeh, director, Division of Bacterial Diseases, US CDC. “The GAPPD framework provides the keys to help partners and programs work together to optimize introduction and uptake of multiple new interventions and better use of long-term strategies.”
Karl Hofmann, President and CEO, PSI
“Simple, affordable solutions exist to save children’s lives,” said Karl Hofmann, President and CEO, PSI. “I’m very happy to see that the new Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea prioritizes these proven strategies and ensures that we tackle these critical diseases in an integrated and coordinated way to reach the most vulnerable children.”
Dr. William Keenan, Executive Director of the International Paediatric Association
“There is absolutely no reason children today should die from pneumonia and diarrhoea,” said William Keenan, executive director of the International Pediatric Association. “We have the tools to stop these deaths and we must. By coordinating efforts to tackle two diseases that can be defeated, we have the power to save millions of children’s lives.”
Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, UN
“Renewed action on pneumonia and diarrhoea is critical to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and the aims of the Every Woman Every Child movement,” said Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary-General. “The Global Action Plan shows how access to vaccines and treatments, especially antibiotics, oral rehydration salts and zinc, and sanitation interventions, can save millions of lives. Our generation of global health and development leaders has an opportunity to create the healthiest generation of children the world has ever known. We must all rise to the challenge and accelerate our work as the 2015 MDG deadline draws near.”
Dr. Jim Yong Kim, President, World Bank
“A world where two million fewer children die from pneumonia and diarrhoea is achievable because we already have the solutions – the vaccines and medicines, clean water and energy, and other key services vital to healthy childhoods,” said Dr. Jim Yong Kim, president, World Bank. “The critical challenge is delivery to the children who need these interventions the most. The World Bank is committed to investing in the health of children and in health systems that can sustainably deliver quality, affordable health care to the most vulnerable children. We welcome the Global Action Plan and look forward to deepening our collaboration with partners engaged in maternal and child health.”
Don Lindsay, President and CEO of Teck Resources
“Of the 7 million children who don’t reach their 5th birthdays, one in three die because they cannot get access to treatments like zinc and oral rehydration salts (ORS) for diarrhoea and antibiotics for pneumonia,” said Don Lindsay, President and CEO of Teck Resources. “This is why Teck Resources, in partnership with the Canadian Government, the Micronutrient Initiative and UNICEF, is investing in ORS and zinc treatments for children in Africa, Asia and South America. By building health systems that can deliver zinc and ORS and by educating families to seek these treatments for their children, we can save millions of young lives, strengthening families, communities and nations.”
Venkatesh Mannar, President, The Micronutrient Initiative
Nutrition interventions, such as zinc treatment for diarrhoea, vitamin A supplementation to boost children’s immune systems and appropriate complementary feeding as of six months of age, are all important in reducing child deaths from diarrhoea and pneumonia. The Micronutrient Initiative (MI) is proud to have been working with governments in their commitment to reducing deaths from these child killers through nutrition interventions and supports increased effort by the global health community to support governments through the Integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD). Only through concerted and cohesive action will we save and improve children’s lives.
Dr. Thomas K. McInerny, MD, FAAP, President, American Academy of Paediatrics
“Paediatricians, in the United States and across the globe, can and should play an active role in the elimination of preventable disease and death from pneumonia and diarrhoea,” said Dr. Thomas K. McInerny, president of the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP). “The AAP applauds the GAPPD’s integrative approach to tackling two of the most deadly illnesses for children under age 5. We look forward to partnering with the World Health Organization, UNICEF and many other organizations to ensure that every child – no matter where he or she lives – is given the chance for a healthy, productive life.”
Mandy Moore, singer-songwriter/actress; Global Ambassador for PSI
“The Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea is a significant step in the fight to reduce preventable childhood deaths,” said Mandy Moore, singer-songwriter, actress and global ambassador for PSI. “Through my travels with global health organization PSI, I have seen many of these integrated solutions in action — such as interventions to ensure access to safe drinking water and sanitation, antibiotics to treat pneumonia, and oral rehydration solution and zinc to treat diarrhea. I know that through this coordinated action we can save millions of lives, allowing children the opportunities to grow to their full potential.”
Dr. Tony Nelson, Professor of Paediatrics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
“It is fascinating how we often fail to appreciate the value of some of life’s simplest things,” said Tony Nelson, professor in paediatrics at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. “The two leading causes of death and disease in children under 5 years of age will be tackled by The Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD). This plan focuses on protection, prevention and treatment using very simple measures: exclusive breastfeeding, vaccines, vitamin A, zinc, oral rehydration solution, oxygen and antibiotics. These simple measures are highly cost-effective and potentially available to all children. Our complex challenge is to ensure that all mothers, fathers, grandparents, health professionals, communities and politicians value and implement these simple interventions.”
“Our goal at Unilever is to help more than a billion people to improve their hygiene habits and bring safe drinking water to 500 million people reducing the incidence of diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia,” said Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever. “The Global Action Plan acknowledges that hand washing with soap, clean water and sanitation are among the most cost-effective health interventions for reducing the incidence of both pneumonia and diarrhoea in children under age 5 and that is why Unilever is committed to expanding our investments and deepening our engagement in partnership with governments and non-government organizations as part of our Sustainable Living Plan”.
Dr. Hans Rosling, Professor of Global Health at the Karolinska Institutet, Statistician, co-founder of the Gapminder Foundation
There are many tradgedies in today’s world, but child deaths from diarrhoea and pneumonia are the most unnecessary!
Dr. Mathuram Santosham, Professor of International health and Pediatrics at the John Hopkins School of Public Health and co-chair of the ROTA Council
“Incredible progress has been made in recent years and millions of child deaths have been averted,” said Mathuram Santosham, professor of international health and pediatrics at the John Hopkins School of Public Health and co-chair of the ROTA Council. “But too many children are still dying from preventable diseases like pneumonia and diarrhoea. We can change this by abandoning the old ‘either/or’ approach to saving child lives and improving their health. No more should we say, ‘pneumonia or diarrhoea. Disease prevention or treatment.’ It is time for an ‘and’ approach to saving child lives, and the GAPPD provides a roadmap for doing just that using comprehensive strategies.”
Dr. Anne Schuchat, Assistant Surgeon General, US Public Health Service and Acting Director, US CDC
“Too many children all over the world are still dying from pneumonia and diarrhoea,” said Anne Schuchat, assistant surgeon general, United States Public Health Service and acting director, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Center for Global Health and Rana Hajjeh, director, Division of Bacterial Diseases, US CDC. “The GAPPD framework provides the keys to help partners and programs work together to optimize introduction and uptake of multiple new interventions and better use of long-term strategies.”
Cynthia G. Whitney, Branch Chief, Respiratory Diseases, US CDC
“Every child death is a tragedy, yet each year 2 million children die from pneumonia and diarrhoea,” said Cynthia G. Whitney, branch chief, Respiratory Diseases, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The GAPPD provides clear direction on interventions that can prevent these deaths. Now is the time to put this plan into action.”
Andrew Witty, CEO, GlaxoSmithKline
“GSK welcomes the Global Action Plan and its twin focus on pneumonia and diarrhoea which together kill more children under 5 than any other diseases,” said Andrew Witty, CEO, GlaxoSmithKline. “We are pleased to contribute to prevention efforts by delivering millions of doses of low cost vaccines against the leading causes of pneumonia and diarrhoea for the world’s most vulnerable children. We continue to work with partners to help increase access to treatments for children with pneumonia and to invest in training health workers to improve diagnosis, treatment and vaccine coverage for children in even the remotest areas. At GSK, we believe that with a concerted effort on both the prevention and treatment sides, we can lift the massive burden of child pneumonia and diarrhoea from families, communities and health systems in developing countries.”
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