Chijioke Iremeka Senior medical professionals have said Nigeria will continue to have disturbing infant health indices except it effectively tackles pneumonia among children under the age of five. The physicians disclosed that pneumonia kills no fewer than 100,000 children in Nigeria annually with many of the deaths occurring in the first year of life. The health professionals stated that the infection along with other childhood killer diseases (is) still responsible for the observable high under-five deaths of 132 in 1000 live births.
They noted that to achieve the targets set by the Integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea, Nigeria must lower child pneumonia deaths to at least 26, 000 by 2030. The doctors said the overall goal of the National Child Health Policy in Nigeria was to ensure the survival, optimal growth, and development of children in the country. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, childhood pneumonia is an acute respiratory infection that affects the lungs.
UNICEF explained that infant and under-five mortality rates have remained worrisome in Nigeria at 74 and 117 deaths per 1,000 live births, respectively. The Federal Ministry of Health National Integrated Pneumonia Control Strategy and Implementation Plan 2019 stressed that improving newborn and child health was critical for saving lives and advancing Nigeria’s health outcomes. It emphasised that reducing under-five mortality in line with the Su.