‘Over 23,000 children could die in Nepal in a decade unless world acts on pneumonia’
Boosting efforts to fight pneumonia could avert nearly 23,000 child deaths from pneumonia and other major diseases in Nepal, a new analysis has found ahead of the first ever global forum on childhood pneumonia in Barcelona (January 29-31). According to a modelling by Johns Hopkins University, scaling up pneumonia treatment and prevention services can save the lives of about 9,000 children under the age of five. It would also create ‘a ripple effect’ that would prevent more than 14,000 extra child deaths from other major childhood diseases at the sametime, underscoring the need for integrated health services. Pneumonia is caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi, and leaves children fighting for breath as their lungs fill with pus and fluid. It is the biggest single killer of children, claiming the lives of 800,000 children last year, or a child every 39 second. The disease is a leading killer of children in Nepal, causing 13 per cent of under-five deaths. Although some types of pneumonia can be prevented with vaccines and can be easily treated with low-cost antibiotics if properly diagnosed, one out of five one-year-olds in Nepalis unvaccinated, and many children suffering from pneumonia symptoms do not get access to medical treatment. Child deaths from pneumonia are concentrated in the world’s poorest countries and it is the most deprived and marginalised children who suffer the most. Forecasts show that over...
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