In Manipur, State Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Sapam Ranjan Singh inaugurated the SAANS Campaign 2023-24 in Imphal. The Minister also dedicated the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) as the State Newborn Resource Centre in Imphal.
About SAANS Mission
- SAANS is an acronym that stands for Social Awareness and Action to Neutralise Pneumonia.
- Every year, it is implemented in the states/UTs with the goal of speeding up action against childhood pneumonia.
Features of SAANS Mission
- The goal is to minimise child mortality due to pneumonia, which accounts for around 15% of all fatalities in children under the age of five each year.
- A public awareness campaign will be started to raise knowledge about effective pneumonia prevention strategies such as breastfeeding, age-appropriate supplemental feeding, and vaccination, among others.
Mandate of campaign
- A child suffering from pneumonia can be treated under the campaign by Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers with a pre-referral dosage of antibiotic amoxicillin.
- Health and wellness centres will utilise a Pulse Oximeter (a gadget that monitors oxygen saturation) to detect low oxygen levels in a child's blood.
Pneumonia
- Pneumonia is an instance of lung illness caused by a viral, bacterial, or fungal infection.
- It is an illness that causes the air sacs (alveoli) in one or both lungs to become inflamed.
- The air sacs may become clogged with fluid or pus, resulting in symptoms such as a cough, fever, chills, and difficulty breathing.
- It is curable with vaccinations.
- A variety of bacteria can cause pneumonia. Bacteria and viruses are the most frequent in the air we breathe.
- Target Populations
- Infants and young children
- Persons over the age of 65
- People with weak immune systems
Steps Taken Against Pneumonia
- By 2025, the government hopes to reduce pneumonia fatalities among children to less than three per 1,000 live births.
- In 2014, India created the 'Integrated Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (IAPPD)' to coordinate joint efforts to reduce diarrhoea and pneumonia-related mortality among children under the age of five.