You might remember that I told you how thrilled I was to attend the Shot@Life Summit in Washington DC. I made so many friends and learned so much about the health of my little friends all over the world.
I’d like to share one of my favorite photos with you today:
This is the whole gang. It is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had in a while. I made friends with all kinds of very important and special people. At times I was a little overwhelmed and wondered: What is little ol PammyPam doing here with these IMPORTANT people?? And then the diarrhea talk began and T told me she would show me her leg (she was affected by polio as a child) for 20 bucks and I knew I was HOME.
Stay tuned and I’ll share more of my Shot@Life experiences.
These guys here? Pneumonia and Polio. Don’t let their cute little faces fool you. They are booger bears.
Polio
Polio attacks a child’s nervous system and can cause muscle weakness, paralysis or even death.
- Thanks to polio vaccination, five million people who would have otherwise been paralyzed are able to walk and polio cases are down 99 percent. Never before has the world been this close to eradicating polio.
- However, the disease has recently reemerged in areas that had been polio-free for years. Until permanently eradicated, polio anywhere remains a real threat to children everywhere.
- Polio remains endemic in three countries: Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan. Other countries, including Angola, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have experienced a recent resurgence in polio transmission.
and Pneumococcal Disease aka Pneumonia
Pneumococcal disease is a bacterial disease that can cause meningitis and pneumonia. While this disease is easily preventable, it is a leading killer of children around the world. Preventing the disease through a vaccine will save millions of lives.
- Pneumonia, the most common symptom of Pneumococcal disease, accounts for 18 percent of child deaths in developing countries, making it the number one vaccine-preventable cause of death worldwide.
- In 2010 the GAVI Alliance, an international vaccine financing partnership, began a program to introduce pneumococcal vaccinations to more than 40 countries by 2015. Once at full capacity, the program could save the lives of three to four million children over the next 10 years.
Wanna find out more? Visit [email protected]. Or hit me up here or on Twitter: @Pamlovesbooks I love to talk #diarrhea or #vaccineswork