Pneumonia kills half a million children in Africa yearly – UNICEF

United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF has raised concern about the state of children, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, following its recent report that the region accounts for half of nearly one million children under-five that die from pneumonia every year.
UNICEF stated this when it launched a campaign with its global partners in Ethiopia on Sunday, urging African leaders to increase funding for pneumonia interventions and adopt policy changes to strengthen its treatment at the community level.
Nigeria has the highest number of pneumonia child deaths in Africa, and the second highest in the world after India. The campaign, Every Breath Counts, was initiated in order to raise awareness around the burden of pneumonia and to galvanize the world to eliminate this preventable and treatable disease of the poor and marginalized children of the world.
The report notes that pneumonia kills nearly one million children under the age of five around the world, causing more deaths than HIV/AIDS, diarrhoea and malaria combined.
Progress in the fight against the disease has been slow compared to progress in other leading diseases. According to the report, childhood pneumonia deaths have fallen by just 50 per cent compared to an 85 per cent decline in measles deaths, and 60 per cent in deaths from malaria, AIDS and tetanus in the last 15 years.
Funding has also remained low: For every global health dollar spent in 2011, only 2 cents went to pneumonia. “Although sub-Saharan Africa accounts for half of pneumonia deaths among children under five worldwide, funding for pneumonia prevention, management and treatment in the region remains low,” said Dr. Mark Young, UNICEF Senior Health Specialist.
“More resources and more commitment at the highest level will bring us closer to stopping this disease from being a major child killer.”
Every Breath Counts was launched during the African Union Summit at the General Assembly of the Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV/ AIDS (OAFLA).
The two-year Every Breath Counts campaign will bring pneumonia to the attention of world leaders, policy makers and donors.
The campaign will highlight the need to mobilize resources to reduce pneumonia mortality. It will also call for specific policies such as prevention through immunization and reduction of household air pollution, protection through exclusive breastfeeding and by facilitating community access to effective, timely diagnosis and treatment with amoxicillin and oxygen.
By mobilizing public health professionals, environmental groups and government officials through the Every Breath Counts campaign, the Campaign will build cross sectoral momentum against the disease. Wife of the President of Nigeria, Her Excellency, Aisha Muhammadu Buhari features in a public service announcement that premiered at the launch.
UNICEF underscored the importance of tackling pneumonia through a comprehensive approach that includes universal vaccination, exclusive breastfeeding, clean water, reduction of household air pollution, and early diagnosis and treatment with amoxicillin and oxygen.
In a related development, for the first time since the start of the refugee and migrant crisis in Europe, there are more children and women on the move than adult males, says UNICEF.
Children and women now make up nearly 60 percent of refugees and migrants crossing the border from Greece to Gevgelijia in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. It says that children currently account for 36 percent of those risking the treacherous sea crossing between Greece and Turkey.
This figure could be higher however as many children do not declare their age until they have reached their destination.
“The implications of this surge in the proportion of children and women on the move are enormous – it means more are at risk at sea, especially now in the winter, and more need protection on land,” said Marie Pierre Poirier, UNICEF’s Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant Crisis in Europe.
“Welfare, protection and health systems need to be strengthened at every step of the way so children and women are not exploited or fall between cracks.
Since June of 2015, when men made up 73 percent of the migration flow, there has been a major spike in the numbers of children and women on the move – accompanied children accounted for one in ten in June 2015 and now account for more than a third of all refugees and migrants.
Although the exact number of unaccompanied and separated children on the move is not known, 35,400 sought asylum in Sweden, mostly young Afghans, while Germany has more than 60,000* unaccompanied adolescents primarily from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
UNICEF has emphasized that all children should be prioritized at every step of the way – they need to be fully informed of their rights to claim asylum and to family reunification in Europe.
The best interests of each individual unaccompanied child should be examined before any actions are taken.