'Vale La Pena' Campaign Launches On World Pneumonia Day 2012 in Miami

A new health campaign, called Vale La Pena, launched today in an effort to raise awareness of pneumococcal pneumonia and the benefits of vaccination among seniors throughout Latin America. The initiative, created by pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the non-profit organization Fighting Infectious Disease in Emerging Countries (FIDEC), is just one of many efforts organized on World Pneumonia Day.

During a conference in downtown Miami, at the Hyatt Regency Miami, Dr. Maria Louisa Ávila, Costa Rica's former Minister of Health, and Dr. Daniel Stamboulian, the founder of FIDEC, spoke on the risks those over the 65 face in contracting pneumonia and the preventative measures that the initiative wants to promote.

Vale La Pena, which means "worthwhile," hopes to raise awareness on the benefits of vaccinations in preventing pneumonia in at least 14 Latin American countries. According to FIDEC, close to 2 million people worldwide die from pneumococcal infections. Although the disease is preventable with a vaccine, vaccination to adults ages 65 and older is low.

At Vale La Pena's launch, Ávila stated that five people throughout the world die each hour from pneumonia. Statistic shown revealed that the disease is the third biggest killer in emerging countries and the fifteenth biggest killer among seniors in the United States.

In 2010, seniors ages 65 and older were the most infected in the United States from lack of vaccination, Ávila said. By 2030, those ages 65 and older are predicted to surpass children under the age of five as the group most affected by pneumonia.

According to Ávila, promoting vaccination is the best preventative measure to tackle the rising number of pneumonia-related deaths. Like pediatric physicians, more doctors with adult patients must promote vaccines in order to prevent the disease instead of having to treat it after it has been contracted.

In order to do this, Stamboulian outlined the four objectives the initiative has to address the disease. These objectives include: informing communities of the dangers of pneumonia, promoting research, helping local and private organizations prevent pneumonia among older adults and promoting resources and communication between doctors and their patients.

To fulfill these objectives, Stamboulian and his organization hope to set up advisory boards for all Latin American countries by 2013 to help aid in vaccine deliveries.

Mark Partridge, the regional marketing head of vaccines for Latin America at Pzifer, also spoke during the conference to outline Pzifer's commitment to promoting Vale La Pena. Partridge said that the campaign's three goals were to educate, inform adults ages 50 and above about vaccines, as well as promote vaccine usage in Latin America.

The campaign also hopes to tackle misinformation about pneumonia vaccines, while making vaccines more accessible to seniors. Rising costs of vaccines in emerging countries prohibits access, leading to a large unvaccinated population.

According to Ávila, "The richest country isn't necessarily the healthiest, but the healthiest country has the chance of becoming the richest."