By Philip Yatai
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says on Wednesday that two million children will die of pneumonia in Nigeria in the next 10 years unless more is done to fight the dreaded diseases.
UNICEF in a statement in Birnin Kebbi by its Communication, Advocacy and Partnership Specialist, Malam Rabiu Musa, said that malnutrition, air pollution and lack of access to vaccines and antibiotics were among the drivers of preventable deaths from pneumonia, which killed a child every three minutes in the country.
“Pneumonia is caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi, and leaves children fighting for breath as their lungs fill with pus and fluid.
“The disease is the leading killer of children in Nigeria, causing 19 percent of under-five deaths, which can be prevented with vaccines, and easily treated with low-cost antibiotics.
“However, more than 40 per cent of one-year-olds in Nigeria are unvaccinated, and three in four children suffering from pneumonia…
Source: News Agency of Nigeria
