Kikonyogo Ngatya
3 November 2009
Kampala — More than 200 pediatricians yesterday petitioned Parliament to prioritise interventions to prevent pneumonia, a leading child killer.
More than 27,000 Ugandan children under five years die of pneumonia annually. The doctors under the Uganda Pediatric Association (UPA) told the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga yesterday in Kampala that pneumonia kills two million children globally each year.
"For every five women, one of them and her child suffer from pneumonia," Dr Sabrina Kitaka, the association president said. The doctors estimate that 20-40 per cent of patients die within 48 hours, because parents confuse it with asthma and common flu. The petition is part of the activities to mark the first World Pneumonia Day in Uganda.
The doctors said the HIV/Aids pandemic had fuelled the many pneumonia cases in the country. "Out of every 100 babies admitted at Mulago Hospital, 60 per cent have pneumonia," Dr Sabrina said.
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