Number of African children receiving pneumonia vaccines falls for first time in four ye
A decrease in routine vaccinations along with an increase in demand for medical oxygen during the COVID-19 pandemic has shaken progress in the fight against childhood pneumonia in Africa, putting thousands of young lives at risk, according to Save the Children.
In 2020 there was a decrease in the number of children in Africa who received the Pneumonia Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) and the Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib)[1] vaccine, two vaccines that work to reduce the death rate from pneumonia which still kills 2,000 children every day.
Pneumonia, which is a potential complication of COVID-19 as well as other illnesses, remains the leading cause of death in children, causing around nearly three-quarters of a million deaths per year[2]. Prior to 2020, the child death rate from pneumonia was already falling far more slowly than other major child killers.
Disruptions in immunization services were widespread in 2020 as access to health services and immunization outreach was curtailed due to the pandemic. Curfews, grounding of public transportation and rampant vaccine misinformation also played a role in disrupting these life-saving services.
However two of the countries that combined host 20% of the world’s under-five population – Indonesia and India – expanded the PCV vaccine into their national routine immunisation program in 2021[3]. While the introduction will be staggered across regions in both countries, this commitment is a major step forwards in ensuring all children receive the vaccine.
In addition to drops in vaccine rates, in the last 12 months, the demand for oxygen to treat COVID-19 patients across all low- and middle-income countries more than tripled, causing shortages in many countries. Medical oxygen is a critical treatment option for children with severe pneumonia. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, each year 4.2 million children suffering from severe pneumonia in poor countries needed medical oxygen to survive.
Nyaluak*, a three-year-old girl from Pibor in South Sudan, recently recovered from pneumonia thanks to her half-sister Achai*, who walked three hours to take her to a health centre for treatment. Achai said:
“Because no one is washing clothes and bathing this child, that’s why the child is sick and the sickness is entering the body of this child… When I brought the child she was having weeping coughs. This cough, when they gave her some medicine, it was not like before. At that night, she slept well.”