MUMBAI: Film director and choreographer Farah Khan will be the face in 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. As a concerned parent, I feel it is important to support a cause that can help save lives of children in India," she said.

"According to the World Health Organization (WHO), pneumococcal disease is the leading vaccine-preventable cause of death in children younger than 5 years of age worldwide. 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," said Wyeth managing director Ranga Iyer.