Well-known film director and choreographer Farah Khan has joined the fight against pneumococcal disease in India, helping create awareness about this little-known disease.

Farah, who has given the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) to her three children, supports vaccination against pneumococcal disease in a new television commercial.

"As a mother, I want to ensure that my children don't fall prey to diseases that can be prevented," Farah Khan said. "As a concerned parent, I feel it is important to support a cause that can help save lives of children in India."

"According to the World Health Organization (WHO), pneumococcal disease is the leading vaccine-preventable cause of death in children younger than five years of age worldwide," said Ranga Iyer, managing director of Wyeth. "India is committed to achieve the World Health Organization's Millennium Development Goal 4 which is to reduce under-five mortality by two thirds by 2015. Mass immunization of infants against pneumococcal disease will help in reducing child mortality in India."

UNICEF and WHO estimate that more than 150 million episodes of pneumonia occur every year among children under five in developing countries, accounting for more than 95 per cent of all new cases worldwide. India alone accounts for 44 million pneumonia cases.

Pneumococcal disease, which includes pneumonia, meningitis and ear infections, is becoming a growing threat worldwide, according to the report 'Pneumonia: The Forgotten Killer of Children' published by UNICEF and WHO. This group of diseases is collectively called pneumococcal disease, which besides acute illness and sufferings can also lead to long term complications like brain damage, paralysis, learning disabilities, speech delays and at times death.