Aisha Buhari seeks funding for pneumonia interventions

Wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, has called on African leaders and policy makers to increase funding for the ongoing campaign to eradicate childhood pneumonia.

Buhari spoke on Sunday during the public launch of the Every Breath Counts campaign at the General Assembly of the Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Buhari, who was represented by Mrs. Toyin Saraki, Wife of the Senate President, said that pneumonia had killed over 900,000 children, more than malaria, AIDS, and measles combined, in the last few years.

She lamented that pneumonia had continued to claim the lives of millions of young people and to receive a fraction of the global public health investment annually.


Buhari said, “Vaccination is critical to preventing pneumonia and other diseases affecting the health of our children. Immunisation should be combined with other innovative interventions that minimise vulnerability, such as reducing household air pollution and increasing access to exclusive breastfeeding and clean water. In addition, we must ensure the availability in the community of effective treatments, including antibiotics like amoxicillin – a cheap and effective treatment for pneumonia.”

While the vast majority of pneumonia deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa, investments towards the prevention, management and treatment of the disease remains low in the region.

PUNCH.