Pneumonia and diarrhoea account for 21% of under-5 mortality and are responsible for an estimated 1.1 million deaths annually in children under five. Furthermore, diarrhoea and pneumonia account for 28% of mortality in children 5 – 9 years of age, resulting in an estimated 84 000 deaths preventable deaths globally.
Existing WHO guidance on the clinical management of pneumonia and diarrhoea has mainly focused on children less than 5 years of age. WHO to date, has not developed clinical guidance on the management of these conditions in children aged 5 to 9 years, which is a gap that needs to be addressed in response to calls from national policy and decision-makers.
Against this background, WHO/MCA is planning to develop guidelines on the management of pneumonia and diarrhoea in children 2 months to 9 years of age. To initiate the process, several scoping reviews were commissioned in 2020 to identify state-of-the-art evidence on the aetiology, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of children with pneumonia and diarrhoea. WHO conducted a 3-day “Stakeholder consultative meeting on the prevention and management of childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea” in October 2021, in which the key findings of these scoping reviews were presented and discussed, and the need for the update of guidelines was confirmed.
The planned guidelines are in furtherance of WHO’s aim to provide guidance that will help the Member States achieve the ambitious targets of the Sustainable Development Goals as they pertain to reducing child mortality and improving the quality of care for children at all levels of the health care system. Recommendations will be reflected in WHO tools such as the Integrated Community Case Management, Integrated Management of Childhood Illness, and the Pocket Book of Hospital Care for Children.
Development process
The Guideline will be developed according to the rigorous processes mandated by WHO. The Guideline development will be overseen by an internal Steering Group and supported by a Guideline Development Group.
Guideline Development Group (GDG)
Nominations for the GDG have been received and biographies of members can be reviewed here. The nominees reflect content experts, methodologists, and representatives of potential stakeholders and beneficiaries of the Guideline.
The GDG will have a key role in refining the scope of the guideline, interventions and outcomes to be considered in evidence reviews, and interpretation of the evidence to develop recommendations.
Public comment
Members of the public are invited to submit any feedback or concerns related to the Guideline and/or nominees for the GDG via email to: mncah@who.int with the title “WHO Guideline on Pneumonia and diarrhoea guideline– public consultation”. The public comment period closes on 15 March 2023.
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