Study finds Four in Five child deaths in Africa are avoidable

A landmark study by the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) Network, a global network, has found that majority of deaths among children under five in Africa and South Asia are caused by preventable infections. Dr Isaac Kihurani, a paediatric specialist at Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, said that dealing with preventable child deaths takes an emotional toll on healthcare workers. “Even as professionals, we feel the weight of losing a patient. Everyone involved; doctors, nurses, caregivers, have emotionally invested in that child’s survival,” expressed Dr. Kihurani. His colleague, Dr Aura Nzinga, echoes the sentiment saying, “We reflect deeply on every case. We hold debriefs to understand what we could have done better and recommend postmortems to provide answers and closure for grieving families.”