Consultant calls for reduction in pneumonia-related deaths

Consultant Paediatrician at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Oluyinka Ogundipe, has called for the immunisation of children to reduce pneumonia-related deaths in Nigeria. Mr. Ogundipe made the call in Lagos on Monday at a programme to commemorate this year’s World Pneumonia Day. The programme was organised by the Health and Sustainable Development Association of Nigeria, a non-governmental organisation and the Lagos State Ministry of Health.

According to Mr. Ogundipe, about 60 per cent of pneumonia cases can be prevented through immunisation and vaccination. He said that improvement in the treatment of pneumonia will save many lives and reduce risk factors. “Pneumonia control is a priority for achieving the Millennium Development Goal-4 in Nigeria, which is, reducing under fives mortality rate by two-third by 2015,” Ogundipe said.

Burden higher in Nigeria

He said that the burden of pneumonia among children is higher in Nigeria because of the presence of risk factors which include malnutrition, crowded living conditions and distance to health facilities. Mr. Ogundipe said that to reduce deaths from pneumonia, there should be prompt recognition of pneumonia by parents and immediate treatment with antibiotics at clinics.

Dr. Jide Idris, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, called on governments, NGOs, health workers and care givers to show commitment to stopping the incidence of deaths from pneumonia. He also urged health workers to watch out for the conditions of children and institute treatment appropriately on time. He said that pneumonia is the leading cause of infant deaths, followed by malaria. According to him, pneumonia is an infection of the lung which can be caused by bacteria, virus or fungi.

Mr. Tayo Fariogun, the executive director of the health association, said that his organisation decided to collaborate with the Lagos State government because health is key to national development.

UNICEF has reported that six million children suffer from pneumonia yearly, while 200,000 of them die from the disease every year in Nigeria.