The 'No Child is Born to Die' campaign - a question...

[CuppaTeaJanice]

I only saw this briefly on the telly this morning, but as I understand it, Save the Children are starting a campaign to provide vaccines for children in developing countries, in an effort to save <a class="break-all" href="//lives.bornto.savethechildren.org.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Info here

The vaccines they will be providing are pneumonia and diarrhoea, which are two new vaccines.

I'm no medical expert, but I always thought diarrhoea was a symptom of various other illnesses and diseases, rather than a disease in itself. So I'm a bit as to how this vaccine works.

Could some clever person please explain?

Why the hell can't they provide clean drinking water and sanitation instead?

More money for big pharma.

As far as I am aware the vaccines are the PCV (Pneumococcal vaccine).

Totally agree re clean water and sanitation as well.

Diarrhoea is hideous but they could give these children treatment for this in the form of Doralyte (sp) which will replace crucial salts and help to prevent dehydration. I would imagine the campaign will tackle sanitation and clean water too.

I don't think the campaign is about vaccines alone, nor does it seem to be vaccines for diarrhoea (I have never heard of that).

Found this quote "Save the Children's chief executive Justin Forsyth said: 'It is shocking in this day and age that 4000 children a day are dying of something as simple as diarrhoea or pneumonia. We need funds to help deliver more vaccines to children, to train more inspirational mums as community health champions, and to ensure that women and babies are supported to birth by a midwife.'" from the Royal College of Midwives.

The Save the Children website says

"We?re not waiting for a miracle cure or a wonder drug to save these lives. We know what works. We just need more of it ? more vaccines, more antibiotics, more nurses and midwives.

Just making vaccines available to the poorest children could save 1 million lives a year. We need your help to persuade governments and companies to make them affordable to all.
"

[urlbornto.savethechildren.org.uk/about-our-campaign]

Janice, your link doesn't work.

sorry, bad link too! Why no edit button?

Does this work? If not just google 'save the children no child born to die' and it's the top link on the list.

I agree that it shouldn't be vaccines alone, but I think STC are doing other stuff too. As are Wateraid, who I give money to each month. Vaccines I would think would be the logical first step though, so the children have at least some protection while the sanitation and infrastructure is improved. Providing the vaccines are safe and tested and don't have a hideous mark-up by the pharma companies obviously.

'Providing the vaccines are safe and tested' no guarantee of that though unfortunately. :(

True bubbleymummy, but what I mean is that the vaccines they will be using are the same as have been given to hundreds of thousands of children over the past years without any major safety issue being flagged up, rather than something that has been cobbled together as a cheap way to vaccinate these children.

YEs, cuppa. I would worry about that too. IIRC the Urabe mumps version of the mmr is still in use in Africa even though it has been pulled from the US, Canada and the UK for its side effects - it's the cheaper option :(

It's the rotavirus vax. It's a big killer in the developing world.

Sanitation, nutrition, functioning health systems are all important for health. But they are complex issues and expensive to resolve. Vaccinations are the most cost-effective way of saving children's lives. That's why the Gates Foundation fund them.

It is sad that developing countries are resource-constrained. But it is rational that they may choose to use a less effective or safe version of a vaccine in order to vaccinate more children or because they are more approriate to the context (eg might not need a cold chain or have a longer shelf life)