Eradication of childhood killer diseases in Nigeria: the journey so far.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of the six childhood killer diseases among the under five children presenting to Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) Nnewi, Anambra State. Methodology: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study of under five children who presented to NAUTH Nnewi from 2016 to 2020. The data was analysed using SPSS version 26. Result: The mean age of the children studied is 22.56 months. Fifty-three percent (53%) were males. The prevalence rate for the six childhood killer diseases was 0.87%. Of all the cases that presented, 86.1% of them were immunized accordingly. The prevalence rate for the others are as follows: Diphtheria (0.07%), pertussis (0.04%), tuberculosis (0.61%) and tetanus (0. 15%).No cases of polio and measles were recorded Case fatality rate for the six diseases was 22.5%. There was better disease outcome in those who were immunized. Conclusion: Substantial progress with respect to elimination of the childhood killer diseases has been made. However, there is still need for more effort if they are to be eradicated entirely. Encouraging families to immunize their children is key to decreasing transmission of these childhood killer diseases as well as having better disease outcomes when infected