A Pulmonologist, Abel Kanji has stressed the need to avoid tobacco smoke and reduce exposure to indoor air pollution to check the risk of pneumonia in children.
Kanji, a physician who specialises in the respiratory system, said this in Abuja on the commemoration of the World Pneumonia Day with the theme: “Healthy Lungs for All” which aims to promote lung health globally.
He also appealed to government to strengthen, accelerate and sustain interventions toward preventing and treating pneumonia.
He advised governments to design specific strategies to reach the “hard-to reach” populations to improve accessibility to available interventions and urged experts to conduct research to develop innovative strategies to reduce the burden of pneumonia in the country.
Pneumonia is caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi and leaves children fighting for breath as their lungs get filled with pus and fluid.
World Pneumonia Day is marked
globally on November 12 to promote the prevention and treatment of the disease.
