Sometimes, one wonders if some diseases are made for the poor, or the poor are just victims to some diseases. Until we find an answer, pneumonia has still not stopped tormenting children, women, men, in fact, everybody.
Pneumonia is harder and harsher on children like most other diseases, except that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has fingered pneumonia as the world’s leading infectious killer of children under age 5. That, for starters means it is deadlier than HIV, tuberculosis, Ebola and even malaria on children under age five.
That is why this year’s theme on World Pneumonia Day marked every 12th day of November is ‘Stop Pneumonia: Invest in Child Health’
The cause? That’s the biggest question; myth links it to cold, which experts have since debunked.
But according to American Lung Association, anyone can get pneumonia. “It’s commonly a complication of a respiratory infection—especially the flu—but there are more than 30 different causes of the illness. Older adults, children and people with chronic disease, including COPD and asthma, are at high risk for pneumonia.”
The lung association identified cough (with some pneumonias you may cough up greenish or yellow mucus, or even bloody mucus), Fever, which may be mild or high
shaking chills, shortness of breath, which may only occur when you climb stairs as the most common symptoms.
Additional symptoms include: Sharp or stabbing chest pain that gets worse when you breathe deeply or cough, headache, excessive sweating and clammy skin, loss of appetite, low energy, and fatigue, confusion, especially in older people.
It has not been all death and mourning in Nigeria on pneumonia, even though there is still a whole nine yards to cover.
Dr Kelechi Okoro, founder Health for Africa, explained that worldwide, pneumonia, a leading killer of children under the age of five, claims the lives of 2,400 young children every day – 100 children every hour. Pneumonia claims one young child every 36 seconds.
“In 2016, nearly 900,000 children worldwide died from pneumonia before their fifth birthday.
“As we celebrate the 10th World Pneumonia Day – we have reason to reflect on our progress. This year, pneumonia will claim the lives of over half a million fewer children than it did each year when we first recognised World Pneumonia Day.”
Dr Okoro also added that people of any age, in every country, are at risk of contracting pneumonia, but a disproportionate number of all childhood deaths from pneumonia occur in impoverished countries, due to conflict, poverty, and weak health systems.
“For children who acquire pneumonia in developing countries, 70 per cent of deaths could be prevented with appropriate antibiotic treatment that costs $0.40, that is less than N150.00 for a course of treatment.
“To make progress in reducing the number of pneumonia-related deaths, significant efforts need to be made to equitably reach, immunise, and provide health services for those hard-to-reach children.
“Thankfully, the number of children dying has been cut in half since 1990, but we can’t stop here. By investing in global health, we can make dramatic improvements in child heal
“Affordable and effective interventions like vaccines, oxygen, antibiotics, hand-washing, and breastfeeding have proven track records and immediate impacts,” she said.
Still dwelling on the possible, homegrown solution(s) to this child-killer disease, Dr Okoro pointed out that Pneumococcal and HIB vaccines can prevent nearly a million deaths that would occur in the poorest 40 per cent of the low- and middle-income country population.
“In addition to causing substantial child mortality, pneumonia also pushes many families into poverty – vaccination help can protect against both.
“Insufficient breastfeeding can leave children undernourished and at an increased risk of pneumonia.
“Breastfeeding can prevent about one third of all respiratory infections and over half of hospitalisations from respiratory infections.
“Exclusive breastfeeding can help to strengthen the immune systems of infants and children, to enable them to better defend against infections such as pneumonia.
“Life-saving pneumonia vaccinations and treatments exist. However, inequitable distribution leaves some groups disproportionately vulnerable to pneumonia.
“We must invest in the development and scale-up of effective pneumonia interventions that prioritise the at-risk and underserved populations.
“Pneumonia and diarrhea are common childhood illnesses from which children everywhere suffer. However, children in low-resource settings too often lack access to vaccines, medicine, and medical care.
“As a result, these common, highly preventable and treatable illnesses take over a million young lives each year.
“Despite global efforts, the leading killers remain the same – pneumonia and diarrhea claimed more than 1.3 million child lives each year, roughly one in every four deaths of children under 5 years of age. Many are preventable,” she stated.
and then