Pneumonia is a heavily underestimated fatal disease that in 2018 was responsible for the death of an estimated 162,000 children in Nigeria. Pneumonia is an easily preventable with access to vaccines and low-cost antibiotics. Strong primary healthcare and access to qualified health workers who have the right tools to diagnose is important in the treatment and detection of Pneumonia.
Exposure to unsafe water and sanitation facilities, along with under-equipped health workers combined with the compromised immune systems these malnourished kids have are the factors leading to Nigeria losing 443 children a day in 2018 to Pneumonia. Funding available to tackle pneumonia lags far behind other diseases. Only three per cent of current global infectious disease research spending is allocated to pneumonia, despite the disease causing 15 per cent of deaths in children under the age of five. Once again, access to medicine and proper medical services is the best way to tackle this forgotten pandemic that still takes so many lives yearly.
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