World Pneumonia Day: Killer Heels Kick Out a Killer Disease

  • Share
  • Read Later
Sienna Miller's Sergi Rossi shoes donated to 'Killer Heels' campaign

Emma Blau/Image Courtesy of Save The Children

Can killer heels stamp out pneumonia for good? That’s just what Save the Children is hoping to do with today’s launch of their “Killer Heels” campaign to coincide with World Pneumonia Day. Backed by top celebrities and designers, including Sienna Miller to Alexander McQueen, stilettos are being donated and auctioned off to raise money for vaccines and antibiotics to help prevent children from catching pneumonia.

For every child who dies of a preventable disease in an industrialized country, more than 2,000 children will die in developing countries such as Africa and India. Pneumonia is one of the biggest killers of children under five, with two million deaths last year. Statistically, more infants die of pneumonia than measles, malaria and HIV/AIDS combined. The shoes gathered will be exhibited at Living and Giving charity shops around the U.K., and will eventually be auctioned online at the end of the year. The funds raised through the campaign will go towards such campaigns as Kangaroo Care, which set up a clinic where mothers could learn how to best care for their babies to ensure their survival. (See photos of The Most Malarial Town on Earth)

Elsewhere around the world, people are being asked to wear the color blue to raise awareness. The reason is simple: Children who are dying of pneumonia turn blue because they can’t breathe. (Read a Brief History of Cholera Outbreaks)