A leading child rights organisation, Save the Children, says pneumonia is killing one child every three minutes in Nigeria, which amounts to a total of 480 children in a day nationwide.

The organisation also disclosed that Nigeria has the highest number of pneumonia deaths globally, as the disease claimed the lives of 162,000 children in Nigeria under the age of five in 2018.

Pneumonia, which is caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi, and leaves children fighting for breath as their lungs fill with pus and fluid, is now a leading killer of children in Nigeria, causing 19 per cent of under-five deaths.

Kevin Watkins, Chief Executive of Save the Children, the UK who disclosed these numbers at a press conference on Monday to commemorate this year’s World Pneumonia Day, said pneumonia is a leading killer of children in Nigeria, causing 19 per cent of under-five deaths.

Nigeria ranked second behind India in 2017 with 132,556 number of under-five deaths from children while India topped the world with a total of 178,717 children deaths.

He called on the Federal Government to urgently commit new resources to tackling the deadly disease.

“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,” Watkins.

“Just five countries were responsible for more than half of child pneumonia deaths: Nigeria 162,000, India 227,000; Pakistan 58,000; the Democratic Republic of Congo, 40,000 and Ethiopia 37,000.”

He explained that 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.

Watkins added that 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.

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

READ MORE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/pneumonia-kills-480-children-daily-in-nigeria/

No 1 child killer in northern Nigeria.

I dont believe this news.. who did the counting?

One child every 3 minutes.. that means there should be no children left in Nigeria again