“We believe change can happen when we join hands as a community to combat the poor health of children in our communities,” says Medius Kyarikunda, a health worker in Kicuzi sub-county.

In Uganda, pneumonia kills up to 24,000 children every year before their fifth birthday. But now thousands of children’s lives will be saved by the recent introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV).

“It is easily the most important week of the year in terms of child health, with millions of children reached with key services such as immunization,” says Dr. Roberto de Bernardi, UNICEF Mozambique Officer-in-Charge.

A groundbreaking new vaccine launched in Somalia offers protection against five diseases. Abdul has just become one of the first children in Somalia to have a jab - greatly increasing his chances to survive beyond his fifth birthday.