Stakeholders seek new ways of tackling pneumonia

Stakeholders have called for improvement on ways of tackling the rising cases of pneumonia in the country.

They said that Nigeria’s estimated 162,000 children reported to have died to pneumonia in 2018, being the highest of the estimated total of 802,000 pneumonia deaths globally, is unacceptable.

They were speaking weekend in Abuja at the presentation of the National Integrated Pneumonia Control Strategy and Plan during a roundtable to commemorate this year’s World Pneumonia and Prematurity Days organised by the Save the Children (STC) International in collaboration with UNICEF and Every Breath Counts in Abuja.

Addressing delegates during the workshop, the Chief of Party Dr. Adamu Isah, called for urgent actions to reduce world’s leading killer of children in Nigeria.

“We have gone into partnership and we are getting closer together every day, we are forming a bigger coalition now than before to address this issue of pneumonia. Another commendation is that this country has been able to work through the partnership to develop a national pneumonia control strategic plan,” Isah said.

While calling for commitment to translate words into actions and to create more awareness on the scourge, Dr. Isah said that pneumonia has direct connection with nutrition and that the government should find a way of reaching out and supporting the health sector, saying issues of healthcare financing and quality care should not be left to donor partners alone.

Also, UNICEF Chief of Health and HIV, Dr. Sanjana Bhardwaj, said the progress of pneumonia treatment in Nigeria was slow, and that the government must continue to strengthen the health system.

She said, “It is possible to prevent pneumonia through better immunization coverage to protect children from some of the leading causes. It is possible through good nutrition to help their bodies to fight off infections and respond to treatment as well as to prevent underlying causes of pneumonia. It is possible through provision of improved water, hygiene and sanitation.”

Presenting the draft National Integrated Pneumonia Control Strategy and Plan, the Deputy Director, Child Survival Child Health Division/Family Health Department, Federal Ministry of Health, Tinu Taylor, said children under the age of five years make up 17 percent of Nigerian population and that about 8.8 million children died globally every year.

She said that globally Pneumonia is next to neonatal causes of under-five mortality.

She said about one third of children with Pneumonia receive appropriate treatment adding that Pneumonia death for children can be prevented with highly cost-effective vaccines and treated with low-cost antibiotics.