To successfully treat pneumonia, there’s only one thing you need…

Seven-year-old Miguel* arrived at our clinic in Guatemala with his mother, who was deeply worried about his persistent cough, high fever, and difficulty breathing. His temperature was 39°C (102.2°F), his blood oxygen levels had dropped to 90–93% (normal is above 95%), and his lungs wheezed with every breath. Miguel had pneumonia.

Pneumonia is a serious infection that inflames the lungs, causing difficulty breathing, fever, and other potentially dangerous symptoms. Without timely treatment, it can become life-threatening.

Tragically, pneumonia claims about 800,000 young lives each year, making it the deadliest infectious disease for children under five, according to a 2020 UNICEF report.

“In 2024, 273 children visited our Health & Help clinic in Guatemala, with respiratory illnesses accounting for a quarter of all cases—a figure that rises to 35% during colder months,” says Leonor Castedo, Country Director of Health & Help in Guatemala.

She shared Miguel’s story with us:

The boy’s condition gradually stabilized. Doctors treated him with fever-reducing medicine, an IV to prevent dehydration, and oxygen therapy to help him breathe. Once the immediate danger had passed, Miguel was sent home with a treatment plan that included antibiotics, fever reducers, and inhalation therapy once his fever subsided.

Miguel lives several hours from the clinic in a small adobe house made of clay and straw. His home is cold and damp in winter, with a smoky makeshift fireplace to dry the air. Like many children in Guatemala, Miguel is malnourished, with a weakened immune system. Although Guatemala offers a public pneumococcal vaccination program, Miguel’s mother wasn’t sure if he had received it. These living conditions and limited healthcare access made him highly vulnerable to disease.

Thanks to timely care, Miguel began to recover. By his follow-up visit, his fever was gone, his breathing had improved, and he was well on his way to full recovery.

To treat pneumonia successfully, you need just one thing: access to resources. Antibiotics, diagnostic tools, transportation to medical facilities—without these essentials, even treatable illnesses become life-threatening.

For just $34, you can save a child’s life by covering the cost of diagnosis, treatment, and essential medications  in remote areas of Guatemala.

Your support ensures that no child has to die from a disease we’ve known how to treat for decades.

Join the Health & Help team in saving lives. Donate today and help end preventable deaths.

*Names have been changed to protect privacy.