ISLAMABAD: While pneumonia remains a major threat to life for children under the age of five, especially infants, during winter, health experts on Tuesday called for urgent action to combat childhood pneumonia in Pakistan.

The health experts had gathered in Islamabad for a high-level National Dialogue on Combating Childhood Pneumonia in Pakistan during which coordinated efforts were stressed to reduce preventable deaths among children under five.

Hosted under the leadership of the Ministry of National Health Services, the event also brought together federal and provincial policymakers, WHO, Unicef, GAVI, academia, the Pakistan Pediatric Association, INGOs, and civil society to discuss evidence, system gaps and policy priorities.

It is worth mentioning that pneumonia remains one of the leading killers of children under five in Pakistan, despite the availability of cost-effective interventions, including antibiotics, oxygen therapy and vaccines.

Researchers from the International Research Force (IRF), in collaboration with the WHO, shared results from recent observational studies conducted in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Thatta, and Lahore, examining how facilities manage pneumonia in children aged two to 59 months.

The findings and suggestions include limited adherence to Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) protocols at the primary health care (PHC) facilities, inadequate availability of essential equipment such as ARI (Acute Respiratory Infection) timers, paediatric pulse oximeters and oxygen systems.

Studies also highlighted gaps in rational antibiotic use and referral systems, low caregiver follow-up and community-level awareness, and variability in performance across provinces due to resource constraints.

Director General Ministry of Health Dr Ayesha Isani reaffirmed the government’s dedication to reduce child mortality through strengthened PHC systems. She emphasised that pneumonia remained a preventable tragedy and stressed the need for harmonised action between federal and provincial levels.

“No child in Pakistan should die from a disease we know how to prevent and treat,” she stated, calling on provinces to accelerate implementation of pneumonia management protocols and to prioritise child health financing in their annual budgets.

WHO Representative Dr Yasir Bin Nisar shared global perspectives on pneumonia management, emphasising the importance of community-based care, antibiotic stewardship and equitable access to diagnostic and treatment services.

Member Standing Committee on Human Rights Zahra Wadood Fatemi underscored the critical responsibility of lawmakers in safeguarding public health. She emphasised the need for stronger national focus on health and education, noting that building a healthy generation was essential for a healthy Pakistan.

Development partners emphasised scaling up IMCI training, ensuring uninterrupted supply of essential tools and integrating pneumonia preventive vaccines (PCV, Hib) into routine assessment and follow-up.

The academia underscored the need to strengthen pre-service IMCI training, improve evidence-sharing between teaching hospitals and PHC facilities, and strengthen data-driven decision-making.

The dialogue concluded with recommendations to strengthen IMCI-based pneumonia case management at PHC level, enhance provincial ownership and domestic financing for pneumonia prevention, improve availability of vaccines, amoxicillin, oxygen and diagnostic tools, integrate nutrition and immunisation services into pneumonia management and establish a National Pneumonia Advocacy/Champions Group to drive sustained policy action.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2025