Pneumonia killing one child every three minutes in Nigeria; 162,000 under 5 deaths in 2018

• Pneumonia killed 162,000 children under the age of five in Nigeria last year
• Nigeria has highest number of pneumonia deaths globally
• Health and children’s agencies launch appeal for action
• Content and case studies are available here
• All data source on pneumonia in this press release is from UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation 2019/recent household survey via GRID, Save the Children’s Child Inequality Tracker; MICS 2016 -2017

ABUJA (November 12, 2019)—Pneumonia claimed the lives of 162,000 children under the age of five last year, or one child every three minutes, according to a new analysis.

Save the Children is calling for the Nigerian government to urgently commit new resources to tackling the deadly disease, pneumonia.

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 a leading killer of children in Nigeria, causing 19% of under-five deaths.

Globally, 802,000 children under the age of five died from pneumonia in 2018, more than from any other disease. By comparison, 437,000 children under five died due to diarrhoea and 272,000 to malaria.

Just five countries were responsible for more than half of child pneumonia deaths: Nigeria (162,000), India (127,000), Pakistan (58,000), the Democratic Republic of Congo (40,000) and Ethiopia (32,000).

Children with immune systems weakened by other infections or by malnutrition, and those living in areas with high levels of air pollution and unsafe water, are at far greater risk.

The recent analysis found out that Nigerian children born in the poorest households were nearly three times more likely to die from diseases like pneumonia before their fifth birthday, compared to the richest children.

The picture is starkest in Zamfara, where children are five times as likely to die before the age of five, compared to children from Kwara.

Most pneumonia deaths can be prevented with vaccines, and easily treated with low-cost antibiotics, such as Amoxicillin DT.

But millions of children are missing out on both. More than 40% of one-year-olds in Nigeria are unvaccinated, and three in four children suffering from pneumonia symptoms do not get access to medical treatment.

Kevin Watkins, Chief Executive of Save the Children UK,said“This is a forgotten global health epidemic that demands a greater international response. Millions of children are dying for want of vaccines, affordable antibiotics, and routine oxygen treatment. The pneumonia crisis is a symptom of neglect and indefensible inequalities in access to health care.”

It’s time for governments, UN and multilateral agencies, companies and NGOs to join forces to fight pneumonia and protect these children.”

Deirdre Keogh, Country Director, Save the Children International Nigeria, said“in collaboration with the Every Breath Counts (EBC) Coalition, Save the Children supported the Government of Nigeria in the development of the National Integrated Pneumonia Control Strategy. I would like to applaud the government for taking a very important step forward in addressing pneumonia. I am confident that the Strategy will soon be approved, costed and implemented to reduce child pneumonia deaths, as part of a wider strategy for universal health coverage in Nigeria.

Nigeria spent just $10 per person on health care in 2015, far below the $86 minimum level recommended by the World Health Organisation.

On 29-31 January 2020 in Barcelona, Spain, Nigeria will be joining over 300 participants from different countries – including ministers and senior planners from high-burden countries, major development donors, UN and multilateral agencies, non-government organisations, corporate and philanthropic leaders and the pneumonia research community – as part of an effort to build a bold agenda that would galvanise national and international action that would change the picture on pneumonia.

Save the Children is a leading child rights organization headquartered in the UK with offices in over 120 countries around the world. Since our founding 100 years ago, we have changed the lives of more than one billion children. In Nigeria and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We believe that every child deserves a future and we work every day including in times of crisis to ensure the future of every child is secure. We work with partners to help governments identify and scale up innovations to ensure that children survive, learn, and are protected.

For more information, please contact:

Jennifer Aghaji, Communication Manager; +234 803 455 1450: Jennifer.Aghaji@savethechildren.org

Bukola Shaba: Social Media and Communication Officer; +234 806 735 5391: bukola.shaba@savethechildren.org