Fighting pneumonia key to infant mortality MDG

KATHMANDU, Nov 12: As the country gears up to mark World Pneumonia Day on November 12, pediatricians warn that negligence in saving children from pneumonia could be a hindrance in Nepal´s effort to reduce its Infant Mortality Rate (IMR).



Although Nepal has already achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) in reducing the Under-Five Mortality Rate (U-5MR), it is still struggling to meet the MDG for IMR. [break]According to the National Planning Commission´s latest progress report, 41 out of every 1,000 children die before completing the age of one year. Nepal needs to bring down this number to just 36 by 2015 to achieve the MDG in IMR.



Pediatricians say protecting children from pneumonia is imperative for meeting the MDG in IMR as pneumonia claims the lives of more children than AIDS, malaria and measles put together.



"We cannot meet the MDG in reducing IMR if we fail to protect children from pneumonia," said Dr Dhana Raj Aryal, president of Nepal Pediatric Society (NPS). "We must fight back against pneumonia."



According to NPS, pneumonia is one of the major causes of neonatal death. Over 43 percent of newborn babies who die within the first four weeks after birth, die of pneumonia. And more than 50 percent of infant deaths take place among newborn babies. Hence, Dr Aryal said, protecting the newborn from pneumonia is key to reducing IMR.



However, in spite of the threat posed by pneumonia to child health, the government has done very little to tackle this easily-preventable disease. So far, the government has introduced only anti-hemophilus influenza vaccines to immunize children against pneumonia.



Though vaccination against hemophilus influenza is important, pediatricians say it is not enough. They have stressed the need to introduce another equally important vaccination drive against streptococcus pneumonia.



According to NPS, only 43 percent of parents rush their children to hospital if they catch pneumonia. Altogether 57 percent of parents do not bother to take their pneumonia-infected children to the nearby hospital owing to lack of awareness about the risk of pneumonia.



"As there is only one kind of vaccination drive for the time being, we must motivate parents to immediately rush their pneumonia-infected children to hospital through various awareness programs," Dr Aryal concluded.

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