The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with Kano state government has trained 45 health workers in Kano, on management of pneumonia in children below the age of five.
Dr Shehu Abdullahi, Director, Health Services, Kano State Ministry of Health, made this known on Saturday at the closing ceremony of the capacity building training in Kano.
He said that the training resulted from a baseline survey, which showed that many of the health workers lacked ability to manage the killer disease.
Abdullahi, who is also the Chairman, Kano Oxygen Desk Committee, said the participants were drawn across 16 tertiary and high volume secondary facilities in the state.
“The training is very important for Kano and the country in view of the threat posed by pneumonia, which caused a high morbidity and mortality amongst children.
“We have developed an algorithm for the trained personnel to effectively manage all cases of pneumonia at various levels,” the director said.
He said that before the advent of COVID-19, most countries did not take cognisance of oxygen plants and so in Nigeria there was also shortage of it.
“But now in Kano, we have three plants, one in Dala Orthopaedic Hospital, one in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and one is yet to be completed at Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital,” Abdullahi revealed.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Shudat Basher, a Health Specialist, UNICEF Field Office Kano, charged the participants to step down the knowledge to their colleagues.
Shudat pledged continuous support and monitoring of the beneficiaries by UNICEF and the state government to ensure success at facilities.
Some of the participants who spoke with newsmen pledged to utilise their new skills to save lives of children in their work places.
One of them, Dr Sani Musa, Assistant Secretary, Pediatrics Association of Nigeria, National Chapter, commended the organisers of the workshop.
Also, Dr Omokore Oluseyi of the Federal Ministry of Health said the training was timely, thus pledging effective utilisation of the skills.
