Pakistan's forgotten epidemic: Pneumonia and diarrhea
67,226 under-5 fatalities reported in 2023 KARACHI: Pakistan ranked fourth among 15 focus countries worldwide, accounting for 67,226 deaths among children under five due to pneumonia and diarrhea in 2023, as reported in the latest Pneumonia and Diarrhea Progress Report (2024) by the International Vaccine Access Centre (IVAC) at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The report highlighted a 12% decrease in pneumonia and diarrhea deaths compared to 76,553 deaths in Pakistan in 2022. Vaccination coverage improved slightly: MCV1 (84%), RotaC (90%), PCV3 (86%), Hib3 (86%), and DPT3 (86%). Exclusive breastfeeding remained steady at 48%, up from 47% in 2022. Pakistani children’s deaths due to pneumonia and diarrhea equated to 11/1000 live births, compared to 13/1000 of 2022. Like other 14 surveyed countries with the greatest burden of under-5 pneumonia and diarrhea deaths, Pakistan was not found up to the mark when it comes to meeting certain targets of protecting...