Pneumonia is deadlier than Malaria and diarrhea. Pneumonia is the major cause of mortality and morbidity, among children younger than the age of five years. A health specialist and Chief Medical Director, Sheikh Khalifa Isiyaku Rabi’u Paediatric Hospital, Dr Binta Jibril Wudi made this known, to Voice of Nigeria, during the closing ceremony of a five day medical workers training on pneumonia and use of medical oxygen, in Sheikh Khalifa Isiyaku Paediatric Hospital, Kano State.
Dr Binta termed the training as suitable, adding that the World Pneumonia day, was set aside to raise awareness and inform mothers and caregivers on signs and symptoms to mitigate the deadly disease.
She called on parents to ensure that children should be fully immunized, as the pneumonia vaccine is among the childhood preventable vaccines given to infants.
Dr Binta explained that, United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), would provide medical equipment such as pulse oximeters, CPAP machines and oxygen concentrators, to ensure proactive pneumonia and hypoxemia management.
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Also speaking at event, the Director Medical Services, Kano State Ministry of Health, Dr Shehu Usman Abdullahi, said the essence of the capacity building is to equip health workers, with the requisite knowledge, on the management of pneumonia and hypoxemia.
According to him, forty-five health representatives across sixteen tertiary and secondary facilities, benefitted from the step down training which was cascaded to the state after the national level.
There was valuation conducted on health workers on the management of pneumonia and hypoxemia, which is lack of oxygen in the system whereby children experience difficulty in breathing, Dr Shehu added,
“For now we have three oxygen plants in Kano, Dala Orthopedic, Aminu Kano, and the third one at Muhammadu Buhari specialist hospital would soon commence operations “
Representatives of Federal Ministry of Health, and Oxygen for life initiative, Dr Omokore Oluseyi and Rusikat Omotose, charged participants to make careful use of the knowledge gained and past it to the right channel.
UNICEF and Kano state ministry of health, were commend for organizing the training with great efforts and resources to make it a reality.
UNICEF, Health Specialist field office Kano, Dr Shudat Basher disclose that, UNICEF would continue to support with great efforts of providing interventions that would move the state forward in terms of quality healthcare delivery.
According to Dr Shudat, monitoring teams would be inaugurated to visit health facilities at least once in a month, and report back during quarterly review meetings to achieve the desired objectives.
“This is not going to be the end of our intervention. Monitoring teams would be inaugurated to go round and see if you are using the standard procedures” she added,
A 5-day step down training of Frontline health tertiary, and secondary health facilities, on Pneumonia Treatment Algorithm and Hypoxemia management in children: was organized by Kano state ministry of health in collaboration with Paediatric Association of Nigeria and Oxygen for Life Initiative with support from UNICEF.
READ ALSO: Air pollution leading risk factor for pneumonia mortality .
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