One very early morning I heard a quite thump at the door. Opening it, I gazed out on to the little courtyard of my home in Huambo, Angola. Edwardo, a young pastor, stood clutching his four-year old son. The child was gasping and drooling, his little black body darker from cyanosis – insufficient oxygen. A quick listen to his lungs confirmed the obvious. The boy was dying of pneumonia. Oxygen was the first remedy, but none would be found in Huambo. I administered an antibiotic, but it was all too late. Only a few moments later, the boy breathed his last.
Pneumonia remains a ubiquitous killer in poorer nations. Check out the green portion representing pneumonia for each region of the world on the map above. What are effective interventions? Beyond general progress is nutrition, housing, and education, the most important is early recognition and treatment. Had this boy arrived for care even a day earlier he might well be writing blog posts today, just like me.