Highlights include Mini-Football Tournament and Live Open Fire Display of New Clean Cook-stove Technology That Can Reduce Deadly Childhood Pneumonia
Highlights include Mini-Football Tournament and Live Open Fire Display of New Clean Cook-stove Technology That Can Reduce Deadly Childhood Pneumonia
Liverpool School of Tropical of Medicine driving groundbreaking global research on childhood pneumonia in Africa to be released Wednesday 26 October
Monday, 24 October 2016 (Liverpool, United Kingdom)--Today, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) announced some key highlights to be featured as part of a “Community Common” space at the 47th World Conference on Lung Health, convening at The Arena and Convention Centre (ACC) in Liverpool, United Kingdom, 26-29 October 2016.
“People are shocked when they learn that tuberculosis (TB) kills more people than any other infectious disease,” said José Luis Castro, Executive Director of The Union. “Through the Community Common, The Union is opening important parts of the World Conference to the public so that we can raise awareness about TB and other lung health illnesses and spread the message that we can work together to stop it.”
Event 1
What: LIVE DISPLAY: ACE-1 Cookstove Versus Open Fire
When: Wednesday 26 October 2016. Live displays at 8am, 12 noon and 4pm.
Where: ACC Arena Piazza
Overview: With the support of Operation Florian, the Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service and students from Liverpool Life Sciences UTC, a series of three open fires will be lit (8am, 12pm and 4pm) inside miniaturised replica housing on the piazza of the ACC Arena to visibly demonstrate air pollution and fire risks. Simultaneously, an open fire will be lit and placed in a shed-size replica housing, and this will be contrasted with another structure of the same size which will host an ACE-1 Cookstove, an advanced cookstove which reduces smoke emissions to negligible levels and is among the cleanest and most high-tech stoves currently available.
The session is coordinated by Dr Kevin Mortimer of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Operation Florian, a UK-based international humanitarian charity that provides fire engines, equipment and training to the world's poorest regions. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Services will be on site as the local fire service. The students from Liverpool Life Sciences UTC who are building the miniaturised replica housing will also be present.
Background: Pneumonia is the world’s leading cause of death and sickness for children under five. Around 300 per 1000 children under the age of five are diagnosed with pneumonia every year. Exposure to smoke produced when biomass fuels (animal or plant material) are burned in open fires is a major avoidable risk factor for pneumonia. Globally, around half the world’s population depends on biomass fuels for their day-to-day energy requirements.
Around four million people die every year from the effects of biomass smoke. In Africa, around 700 million people burn fuels made from biomass to provide energy for cooking, heating and lighting. For example, the country of Malawi has one of the highest rates of death among infants and children under five. In Malawi, where at least nine per cent of households depend on biomass as their main source of fuel, biomass smoke exposure is likely to be responsible for a substantial burden of pneumonia. Smoke from burning biomass in open fires also causes other health problems including chronic lung disease, lung cancer, heart disease, stillbirth and low birth weight; it is also thought to be an important driver of global climate change. A research trial in rural Malawi saw households in 150 randomly assigned villages replace their open-fire cooking with efficient biomass fan-assisted cookstoves. The study will measure incidence of pneumonia in children under five years of age, plus record measures of air pollution and economic and social impacts of the stoves.
The event will take place against the following study currently taking place in Malawi and initial results to be released next Wednesday 26 October: Cooking and Pneumonia Study (CAPS)
10 000 children under the age of five – largest trial of its kind in the world – looking at the effects of advanced cookstove intervention on health outcomes
The two-year study is tracking children who live in randomised villages in Chikhwawa and Chilumba in Malawi. The homes of the children involved in the study have been supplied with two clean cookstoves to see if the new stoves, which can reduce emissions by up to 90 per cent, will stop the children getting pneumonia, a major cause of death in this age group.
The adverse health effects of domestic smoke inhalation are a particular problem in low and middle-income countries around the world, where open fires, used for cooking, heating and lighting, are commonly used inside the main living quarters of homes.
The study is funded by a £2.7 million grant from the Joint Global Health Trials Scheme, a partnership of the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Wellcome Trust. It is being implemented in Malawi through collaborative partnerships between the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, The Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme, The Malawi College of Medicine and the Malawi Epidemiology and Intervention Research Unit.
Event 2
What: Outdoor Soccer: Kick TB and Improve Lung Health
When: Wednesday 26 October 2016, 9am – 5pm (BST)
Venue: ACC Arena Piazza
Overview: Liverpool Homeless Football Club will host a programme of mini football tournaments on its Mobile 4G football pitch on the ACC Piazza. The session encourages the participation of those communities affected by HIV/AIDS, TB and other lung diseases, as well as World Conference delegates and all members of the public. The session is coordinated by John Finnigan, CEO of the Liverpool Homeless Football Club.
About the Community Common
The Community Common is a space for community involvement and grassroots activism within the conference. Open to the public free of charge, the Common is where members of the community, students and advocates can promote their work, discuss challenges and innovative solutions, raise awareness and share ideas with conference delegates from around the world. Participation is open to local and international groups of all sizes who are committed to improving lung health for everyone. The Community Common will host activities ranging from daily plenary broadcasts to cultural activities.
Media Registration:
Media are strongly encouraged to register prior to the conference.