-Survivors say treatment cost extremely high hindering those from poverty-stricken areas from accessing the Medicine;
By MWARANDU NZAI-GOLFNEWSLINKS;
A section of parents with children suffering from Pneumonia in Mombasa County now want the Government to formulate a special kitty in order to cushion pneumonia victims while Survivors say saying the treatment is extremely high arguing that most of them come from poverty-stricken families thus hindering them from accessing medicine.
‘’We are appealing to the government to form a kitty to cushion pneumonia victims,” said one of the Parent in a local facility.
According to health experts Mombasa County is one of the Counties with a high uptake of vaccines and some of the diseases that children are immunized from are pneumonia.
A first trip to one of the local facilities in Kisauni Sub County Mombasa County, one of the most frequented health facilities handling hundreds of patients daily, a victim aged 67 and a pneumonia survivor said she has been experiencing strong pains in the chest, fatigue, dehydration at times and a loss of appetite or sweats most of the time.
‘’It is quite depressing. I have had strong pains all over and am always fatigued,’’ she said.
Another patient in the same facility said she has been going through so many tribulations since she got sick and asked the Government to fast track the formation of a specific kitty for pneumonia victims.It is very expensive to cure pneumonia, especially for victims of the disease. We plead to the government to look into this. “She said.
On the other hand, A Mombasa County public health official who spoke on condition of anonymity said vaccines are normally given to babies to protect them from childhood diseases.
The source said some of the diseases include poliomyelitis, measles, pneumonia, diphtheria, tetanus and yellow fever.
According to the source the vaccine uptake amongst infants is however about 70 percent.
‘’Some of the wards in Mombasa County including Mwakirunge and Likoni have been experiencing a low uptake of vaccines,” the source said.
According to the source, some Women however fail to complete all the vaccines as recommended by the health ministry.
Pneumonia is an infection that inflames air sacks in one or both lungs which may fill with fluid.
It may fill with fluid or pus, it can also be life threatening to anyone but particularly to infants and children and people over 65 years.
The symptoms of the disease vary including a Cough with phlegm or pus, a fever may also exhibit with chills and difficulty breathing
The patient may also experience strong pains in the chest, dehydration, fatigue and the patient also experience loss of appetite or even sweating.
Medical practitioners have recommended some forms of antibiotics as efficient treatment of pneumonia and also recommend palliative care which includes oxygen therapy, oral rehydration, therapy and intravenous therapy.
A UNICEF report produced on April 19 2024 showed that pediatric pneumonia was responsible for the death of 800000 children annually.
The report further notes that in 2019 2.5M people died of pneumonia around the world. Out of the 2.5M 600000 are children under 5 years.
As one of the bodies that champions for social and behavior change in the community, Centre for Behavior Change and Communication CBCC was established in 2011.
CBCC aims at achieving transformation in communities by providing comprehensive social behavior change.
The organization does this through innovative and evidence-based interventions that address change at multiple levels.
The Organization further contributes to SBC policy in Kenya and beyond and also works in all the 47 counties throughout the Country.
Over 2000 individuals have been trained in social and behavior change having conducted a total of 97 research projects and has also implemented over 25 projects and campaigns and further implemented over 35 policies and guidelines.
The Organization has partnered with both international and local organizations, national and county governments in providing social and behavior change.
CBCC in partnership with UNICEF have been engaging different communities through different community radio stations to support the uptake of routine child vaccinations.
Key among the vaccines according to the Ministry of Health National Vaccine and Immunization Program is BCG for Tuberculosis, OPV and IPV for Poliomyelitis, Rotavirus for rotavirus and diarrhea, DPT for diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus, measles, rubella and HPV for cervical cancer among others.
This campaign has been targeting caregivers and teenagers in 31 counties including Mombasa, Lamu, Taita Taveta, Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Embu, Kitui, Machakos, Makueni, Nyandarua and Nyeri among others.
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