162,000 Nigerian children died from pneumonia in 2018 – UNICEF

An estimated 162,000 Nigerian children died from pneumonia infection in 2018, the United Nations Children Funds (UNICEF) has said.

In a report released by UNICEF to commemorate the 2019 World Pneumonia Day themed: “Stop Pneumonia, Every Breath Count,” it said Nigeria has the highest number of child death from pneumonia globally, adding that the nation records 443 death per day and 18 every hour on pneumonia-related issue.

UNICEF noted that only five countries were responsible for more than half of child pneumonia deaths: Nigeria (162,000), India (127,000), Pakistan (58,000), the Democratic Republic of Congo (40,000) and Ethiopia (32,000).

Children with immune systems weakened by other infections like HIV or by malnutrition, and those living in areas with high levels of air pollution and unsafe water, are at far greater risk, the report stated.

“The disease can be prevented with vaccines, and easily treated with low-cost antibiotics if properly diagnosed but tens of millions of children are still going unvaccinated and one in three with symptoms do not receive essential medical care.

“The analyses also revealed that pneumonia, a preventable disease kills more children globally as it claimed the lives of more than 800,000 children under the age of five last year globally, or one child every 39 seconds.

“In Nigeria, 19% of child deaths were due to pneumonia in 2018, and it was the biggest killer of children under-five in 2017,” the report partly read.

The acting UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Pernille Ironside, said pneumonia is a deadly disease and takes so many children’s lives, even though this is mostly preventable.

She added that yet, this killer disease has been largely forgotten on the global and national health agendas. “We can and must change this,” she insisted.

The report stated that the biggest risk factors for child pneumonia deaths in Nigeria are malnutrition, indoor air pollution from use of solid fuels, and outdoor air pollution.

“Most global child pneumonia deaths occurred among children under the age of two, and almost 153,000 within the first month of life.”

UNICEF said, sounding the alarm about this forgotten epidemic, six leading health and children’s organisations yesterday launched an appeal for global action against pneumonia and in January, noting that the group will host world leaders at the Global Forum on Childhood Pneumonia in Spain.

“Pneumonia is caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi, and leaves children fighting for breath as their lungs fill with pus and fluid.  More children under the age of five died from the disease in 2018 than from any other. 437,000 children under five died due to diarrhoea and 272,000 to malaria.

“Children with severe cases of pneumonia may also require oxygen treatment, which is rarely available in the poorest countries to the children who need it,” the report added.

Pernille said, funding available to tackle pneumonia lags far behind other diseases.

“Only 3% of current global infectious disease research spending is allocated to pneumonia, despite the disease causing 15% of deaths in children under the age of five.

“Increased investment is critical to the fight against this disease. Only through cost-effective protective, preventative and treatment interventions delivered to where children are including especially the most vulnerable and hardest-to-reach – will we be able to save hundreds of thousands of lives in Nigeria,” she said.