Glaxo Smith-Kline recently launched singer/mother and Smart endorser Barbie Almalbis-Honasan as the face of "No Hope Lost," a Pneumococcal and Rotavirus Disease Awareness Campaign.

During the launch at the Makati Shangrila Hotel, the causes and effects of Pneumonia and Diarrhea were discussed by Dr. Sally Gatchalian, Philippine Foundation for Vaccination Director, alongside Barbie Almabis-Honasan. The event was hosted by Ria Trillo.

In the said forum, Dr. Gatchalian emphasizes that it is important to know more about these diseases as both PNEUMONIA AND DIARRHEA are the leading causes of deaths among Filipino children whose ages are 5 years and below.

Pneumonia is known to be an inflammatory lung condition affects the alveoli or the microscopic air sacs of children. Among its symptoms are difficulty of breathing, chest pains, coughs and fever. According to the records of the National statistics office, the death toll caused by Pneumonia among kids from infant to five years old was around 37 Filipino children per day. To fight against this disease, Dr. Gatchalian urges parents and other adults to prevent more kids from being added in the said statistics.

Dr. Gatchalian says that the infection Pneumococcal disease which is often caused by the S. Pneumoniae (pneumococcus) bacterium results to life-threatening conditions like pneumonia, highly prevalent ear infection – Acute Otitis Media (AOM), complicated pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis.

Asides from pneumonia another deadly disease also plagues young children – Diarrhea. Diarrhea, on the other hand, is the next leading killer-disease for kids 5-years old and below. An estimate of 1.4 million children die annually because of this disease which are often caused by severe dehydration and the Rotavirus Gastroenteritis (RVGE). This disease is also the main reason for diarrheal hospitalization for infants from 3-24 months.

As one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, GSK aims to continuously commits itself to both private and government sectors to fight against such diseases and present health solution to reduce the number of victims to be added to these diseases’ statistics.

The “No Hope Lost” campaign done earlier last week, was proof of GSK’s commitment as it calls for immediate action for parents to have their kids vaccinated against these killer diseases.

“With the help of our dear pediatricians, and the Department of Health, we are committed to the reduction of pneumonia and diarrhea cases nationwide by supplying high quality vaccines. These diseases account for an alarming almost 50 mortalities per day in the Philippines. GSK is here to support the Filipino medical community and the government’s drive to make health services accessible to everyone,” said Philip Cruz, GSK medical director.

Likewise, Dr. Gatchalian emphasizes that “It’s the best time to raise awareness on pneumonia and diarrhea prevention. These diseases should not cause unnecessary suffering to young children,” says Dr. Sally Gatchalian, Philippine Foundation for Vaccination director. “Sometimes it’s just that parents don’t know enough about these diseases, and they don’t know that there are actually vaccines for them.”

To prevent these killer-diseases, parents are encourage to visit their pediatricians to know more about the preventive methods against Pneumonia and Diarrhea.