Health advocates have called for ensuring medical oxygen in the country to save patients suffering from hypoxemia, a medical condition of abnormally low oxygen level in blood that has been growing at an alarming rate among children battling pneumonia.
Currently, 42 per cent of the children visiting secondary hospitals with pneumonia are diagnosed with suffering from hypoxemia, they said at an evidence-sharing session with journalists on Wednesday at icddr,b’s Mohakhali Campus in observance of World Pneumonia Day 2022.
The program was jointly organised by icddr,b and Data for Impact (D4I).
Speakers at the programme said around the world, 73 million people suffer from hypoxemia each year, of which 32 million are children.
Giving a presentation on medical security issue at Wednesday’s session, Dr Ahmed Ehsanur Rahman, associate scientist (Maternal and Child Health Division) at icddr,b said in Bangladesh, about 42% of the children who visit the secondary hospital with pneumonia suffer from hypoxemia.
He said anyone suffering from hypoxemia requires oxygen as a medical therapy.
UNICEF, the United Nations agency responsible for providing aid to children, in their September 2021 report said pneumonia has been the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among under-5 children for more than three decades in Bangladesh.
Hypoxemia is present in an estimated 13.3 per cent of severe paediatric pneumonia cases, and early detection of hypoxemia and oxygen therapy can greatly improve the chances of survival.
Hypoxemia can happen due to a range of medical conditions, largely due to respiratory distress caused by pneumonia, malaria, sepsis, tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, and asthma, among others, he added.
The session ended with an announcement that Bangladesh will co-chair The Lancet Global Health Commission on medical oxygen security in 2024. The commission will also be co-chaired by Makerere University in Uganda and the University of Melbourne and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) in Australia.
The first announcement of the Lancet Global Health Commission on Medical Oxygen Securities was made in September this year.
icddr,b is one of the co-host of the commission. Dr Ahmed Ehsanur Rahman will act as its co-chair, Senior Director (MCHD) Dr Shams El Arifeen will join the commission as commissioner.
Besides, icddr,b Executive Director Tahmeed Ahmed and Nutrition and Clinical Services Division’s Senior Scientist Mohammod Jobayer Chisti will join the commission as advisors.
