During the current winter season 171 children were admitted to the Dhaka Shishu Hospital with Pneumonia. From November till Jan 5, 72 children have died. A seven-month old child died in Khagrachhari Sadar Hospital on Jan 14.
At the Khagrachhari Sadar Hospital, 222 persons were admitted between Nov 6 and Jan 16. Child specialist Dr Rajendra Tripura, says: “At the upazila level, many children are affected by Pneumonia and most are between the ages 6 and 18 months.”
Specialists say that children below five are facing the threat of Pneumonia; while the situation of Pneumonia has improved, every hour, a child is dying of this preventable condition.
Save the Children says that every hour, two children die of Pneumonia. The situation analysis report of Pneumonia, states that for children below the age of five, the main reason for death is Pneumonia.
Pneumonia sanitary commitment adviser, Sabbir Ahmed, says: “The main focus of the country at the moment is the under-five death which constitutes 60 percent. In the national work plan, integrated management of child illness has to be strengthened and more focus given to Pneumonia.”
Head of the new born section of Bangabandhu Medical College, Dr Mohammad Sahiddullah, says: “Earlier, three major reasons for child death were, Pneumonia, Diarrhea and malnutrition. Now death from diarrhea is almost nil and from malnutrition, the rate is very low. Pneumonia has also seen a fall but is the main cause of death among children.
“All children have to be vaccinated; attention must be given to malnutrition and children have to be taken to doctors in case of fever or respiratory complications.”
Dr Shamsul Huq of the health department’s neo natal child and adolescence health project, says: “Not starting treatment on time is one of the reasons for child death from Pneumonia; there is lack of awareness here. If treatment is started on time then the illness does not become severe.”
Therefore, we are training health workers under the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness Protocol. But people living in urban slums are always a little backward in health care, he added.