140, 520 children under five died of pneumonia in 2016, killing more than 16 children every hour, a report released by an international non-governmental organisation, Save the Children International, has said.
The report, ‘Fighting for Breath in Nigeria: A call to action on childhood pneumonia,’ was unveiled by the Country Director of the organisation, Mr Ben Foot, in Abuja on Monday.
The report said more than 4.2 million children aged 12-23 months were not immunized with Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) in 2016.
It called on the Federal Government to ensure that at least one percent of consolidated revenue provided in the National Health Act is budgeted and released yearly to provide basic health care at the primary health level.
The report reads: “The Federal Government should ensure that at least 1% of consolidated revenue provided in the National Health Act is budgeted and released yearly to provide basic health care at the primary health level, including for training, retraining of health workers and provision of essential drugs and equipment.
“Government at all levels should reduce vulnerability to pneumonia by promoting healthy nutrition, exclusive breastfeeding, complimentary feeding, hand washing, safe drinking water and sanitation as well as prompt care seeking behaviour.
“The federal government should encourage states to adopt and implement Task Shifting/Task Sharing policy as a step towards addressing human resources for health challenges at the primary health care level.”
Mr. Foot, at the launch of the Pneumonia Global Report to mark this year’s World Pneumonia Day, said governments at all levels and stakeholders must come together to tackle the challenges posed by pneumonia.
He said the organisation has been working in Nigeria since 2001 to save children.
Mr. Foot said: “We need to recognize now that pneumonia is something that we all need to come together- government, private sector, NGOs, civil society, to try and finally tackle.
“This is something we can do something about. This is something that every day, new technologies, new ideas, new approaches are coming forward to enable us to save many more children.
“It is a preventable disease. Many children can be saved. It is still a problem in sub-Sahara Africa.
“There is a growing movement to try and deal with the horror that we face every day with so many children dying of something that if we work together, could stop.”
President of the National Medical Association (NMA), Faduiley Francis, said pneumonia is a silent killer and it places a huge burden of families and health system in Nigeria.
He said Nigeria is one of the 15 countries responsible for 70 per cent of global deaths attributable to pneumonia and diarrhea among under five children.
Mr Francis who was represented by Mustapha Yahaya called on the federal government to review the National Health Insurance Act and make health insurance mandatory for all states and citizens.
This, he explained, was the surest way to achieve Universal Health Coverage by the country.
The Country Representative, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Paulin Basinga said pneumonia should be considered a number one problem in Nigeria.
Represented by Yusuf Yusufari, Basinga said the organisation is committed to help children in Nigeria and will support in its fight against pneumonia.
Basinga noted that the coverage of PCV in Nigeria was still very low and no progress could be made with that.
She urge the federal government and other partners to ensure every child in Nigeria was immunised.
In his remarks, the Country Representative, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Mohammed Fall, said every day should be considered a world pneumonia day because the disease stands as a leading cause of death of children all over the world.
Represented by Chief of Health, UNICEF, Sanjana Bhardwaj, Mr Fall said a combined effort from all partners will lead to zero pneumonia in Nigeria and even in the world.
Source: The Nation
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