Haryana takes great initiatives to reduce the cause of death of children under five- childhood pneumonia. The state government has designed plans whereby it would provide district hospitals with some of the critical medical appliances and enhance healthcare training towards reducing the number of deaths caused by pneumonia.
Supplying District Hospitals
Effective solutions to childhood pneumonia can be achieved by providing Haryana's district hospitals with equipment in the form of the following medical devices:
- Paediatric nebulisers
- Pulse oximeters
- Oxygen cylinders
- Nasal prongs
- Suction catheters
Suction catheters
The goal is to reduce the pneumonia mortality rate among children less than five years to less than three per 1,000 live births by 2025 or five deaths per 1,000 live births currently. It is in this campaign that the state is conducting a broader scale awareness from now to 28 February 2025, among children less than five years old.
What is Pneumonia in Children?
Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs initiated by a variety of agents, including bacteria, viruses, or fungi. In pneumonia, the alveoli, or air sacs, become filled with pus, thus obstructing the essential exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. It is interesting to note that pneumococcal pneumonia accounts for nearly 16% of all serious cases and 30% of all deaths in this age group.
Training Health Workers
The state will also equip skill stations in every district hospital. This will ensure that Social Awareness and Action to Neutralize Pneumonia Successfully (SAANS) runs training sessions led by district master trainers. The training is extended to healthcare staff and frontline workers who can conduct home visits and detect early signs of pneumonia.
Community-Based Interventions
The initiative also has an important characteristic: community involvement. ASHAs and other health care workers will call at a number of households to screen young children for pneumonia. Whenever a child suffering from cough or under any form of breathing difficulty is identified, treatment may be provided immediately with amoxicillin on the premises if necessary.
Pilot program funding and assistance
It has allocated ₹15.4 crore this year for the purpose and is on a high tide due to the increased number of pneumonia cases. The state had reported 17,688 cases of respiratory infections among children between April 2023 to March 2024, recording a huge hospital admission.
Haryana will surely establish a holistic approach against childhood pneumonia with all these steps checked along with strengthening hospital facilities and training doctors.
Addressing Risk Factors
Several risk factors contribute to childhood pneumonia, including:
- Low birth weight
- Malnutrition
- Non-exclusive breastfeeding
- Indoor air pollution
- Lack of vaccinations (especially for measles and pneumococcal diseases)
By addressing these factors alongside improving hospital resources and training, Haryana aims to create a comprehensive strategy against childhood pneumonia.
End Note
This is a proactive measure on the part of the Haryana government to counter childhood pneumonia with better health infrastructure and community services. Equally significant is the approach from both hospital preparedness and grassroots interventional measures, a huge expectation in reducing child mortality due to this preventable disease.
With inputs from agencies
Image Source: Multiple agencies
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