10 Mar Kenya: New Hope for the Top Killer of Children
Joseph Kariuki, allAfrica.com
According to data available from the Gates Foundation, one in 12 children in Kenya suffers from pneumonia. The illness kills 30,000 children each year, and many more are left with permanent disabilities. Now there is a new vaccine that can prevent many thousands of cases and the deaths of 10,000 Kenyan children each year.
When Sarah Walegwa’s daughter fell ill she immediately took her to a private clinic. After examination she was told that her baby, Jane Wakesho, was suffering from asthma. “She seemed like she had flu or a normal cold and then she started coughing,” says Sarah.
After treating her for sometime without success the doctor, at the private clinic, did more tests and this time said that he suspected the baby was suffering from malaria: “By this time she had started wheezing and had difficulty in breathing,” said Sarah, 26, a first time mother.