3.5 million children die every year from respiratory infections: WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that as many as 3.5 million children die every year from respiratory infections and diarrhoea-related diseases before the age of five. This is equal to a Jumbo Jet full of less than five-year old children crashing every hour of the day!
Investigations reveal that 80 percent of all these infections spread through hands. Experts say that prevention from infections also lied in our hands. They say washing hands with soap cut the incidence of diarrhoea by up to 25 percent and respiratory infections by 19 percent.
In order to cut infection rate and promote healthy life style, the Lifebuoy launched a mission to make Pakistan Healthy (`Healthy Hoga Pakistan!') and to educate students about the importance of hand washing in schools all over Pakistan. The Lifebuoy's Healthy Pakistan Mission formally started in schools in 2010 led by former Pakistan Cricket Team Captain Wasim Akram as its brand ambassador. The mission was to empower students and teachers to bring about a habit change in their schools. Most ambitious students across Pakistan were selected as vice-captains of Wasim Akram and were entrusted with the task of rolling out this mission in their schools.
The Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi gathered more than 2,500 schools and over 700,000 students on a single platform in 2011. As a result, thousands of families automatically participated in this campaign and pledged to wash their hands with soap. The main aim of this campaign is to change people's hand-washing behaviour and encourage them to use soap before and after each meal.-PR