Community health workers help tackling pneumonia

Pneumonia is a common disease that affects the lungs and a major cause of childhood mortality and morbidity in developing countries like Bangladesh where it contributes to about a quarter of all deaths among children under the age of five years.

Although safe and low cost antibiotics are available in Bangladesh for prevention and control of pneumonia, 46% of cases received care from unqualified providers and 17% received no treatment at all. In order to provide adequate access to timely treatment within the crucial window of 24 hours after the onset of symptoms of pneumonia, BRAC and some other development organisations have introduced a system for the management of pneumonia extending services beyond the health facilities by engaging and training the frontline community health workers (CHWs), so that more children have access to life saving interventions and treatment.

The community health workers of BRAC, known as Shasthya Shebikas, are trained in identification / diagnosis of pneumonia cases and providing treatment using the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended antibiotics at household level. They also identify children with severe pneumonia for immediate referral to nearby hospitals.

BRAC’s Shasthya Shebika model indicates that it is possible to reduce the burden of pneumonia by training and engaging CHWs to implement community-based case management and prevention strategies.

Pneumonia should not be allowed to take so many children’s lives every year. In order to remain on track to achieve MDG 4, we must reduce the number of children dying from pneumonia. World Pneumonia Day 2014 observed on November 12 reminds these messages.

Dr Roy and Dr Sadia Shabnam work at the Health, Nutrition and Population section of BRAC.