Pneumonia n Diarrhoea Kills 195,000 Children

Remi Adeseun spoke at a dialogue and media roundtable with key stakeholders in Kaduna, Adeseun described pneumonia and diarrhoea as silent child killer diseases that had yet to receive the necessary attention.

The Director of Projects, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria-Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health, PSN-PACFaH, Remi Adeseun, has said pneumonia claims the lives of about 195,000 children annually, while about 124,000 others die of diarrhoea.

Quoting a recent World Health Organisation, WHO, statement, Adeseun said pneumonia alone was the biggest killer of under-five children worldwide, noting that various intervention initiatives had been able to reduce pneumonia mortality from four million in 1981 to just over one million in 2014.

“The disease still accounts for nearly one fifth of childhood deaths worldwide,” Adeseun said.

He explained that the roundtable was designed to sensitise pharmacists and media practitioners on the overview of WHO’s new treatment guideline for children under five years suffering from pneumonia and diarrhoea.

He said: “The most suitable formulation for children is dispensable Isamoxicillin and the dosage is based on the child’s weight and because of the risk associated with under or over dosing, it is crucial that paediatrics formulation have flexibility dose for adjustment and that is the reason for the dialogue.

“Nurses, doctors and pharmacists from across Kaduna State have come together to deliberate on how we can improve the health status, especially that of Kaduna’s children.”