Nigeria Programme

GSK and Save the Children have been working in collaboration with University College London (UCL) and other research partners in Lagos and Jigawa states of Nigeria since 2018. Our goal is to catalyse change and contribute to a reduction in child deaths from pneumonia and other preventable infectious diseases.

Programme highlights 

Strengthening health systems

We are working to improve health systems so they can better protect, prevent and treat childhood pneumonia and other infectious diseases. We are equipping primary and secondary health centres with oxygen systems and helping them to provide lifesaving oxygen therapy, especially to children. We are also training health workers in health centres and within communities to detect, diagnose and treat pneumonia and hypoxemia, so more children can get the quality services they need to survive.

Changing behaviours

As well as supporting health centres and workers, we are also working with communities to raise awareness of pneumonia, including the underlying causes and risk factors. This is helping families to recognise the signs and know how to seek support and treatment earlier. With the help of health workers, volunteers and community groups, we are promoting simple practices at home that can help children stave off disease, such as exclusive breastfeeding, immunisation, and better hygiene and nutrition.  

Women's group in Jigawa State, Nigeria
Nurse vaccinating children at health centre
Advocating for Universal Health Coverage

We are advocating for policies and guidelines to be adopted by governments that support access to maternal, newborn and child health services for everyone – no matter what their circumstances. This includes supporting the development of the world’s first ever National Pneumonia Control Strategy. Through our work together in Nigeria, we are generating ground-breaking evidence of what works to reduce the rates of childhood pneumonia in two different regions. And we’re showing how we can bring about long-term sustainable change and reduce child deaths from preventable causes

Stories

Bashir's story
Bashir’s story

As a parent, there is nothing worse than seeing your child poorly and in pain. 

Mallam has two children and lives with his wife in Jigawa state, Nigeria. When his nine-month-old son, Bashir, fell ill he didn’t know what to do. 

“He wasn’t breathing well,” Mallam said. “His stomach also made some noises and his chest was stiff.” 

It took a visit from a community health volunteer, Sani, to put Bashir on a path to diagnosis and treatment. Sani is one of the health workers we’ve trained to spot the signs of pneumonia, as part of our GSK-funded INSPIRING programme.  

“I saw the child had chest issues and difficulty breathing,” Sani says. He referred Bashir to a Save the Children-supported health centre in nearby Balago. 

Once there, Mallam met Save the Children health worker Patience. “There is nothing [Patience] didn’t do – tests, scans, measure everything was OK.” 

But, as Patience quickly recognised, everything wasn’t OK, and she referred Bashir to the primary health care facility in nearby Kyawa, where Bashir was diagnosed with pneumonia, malaria and malnutrition. 

At the health centre, he received the treatment he needed. It took two months for him to recover – with Sani following up with the family to make sure he was making progress.  

“I am happy and grateful for his recovery,” says Mallam. “He is getting better.” 

Saratou’s story
Saratou’s story

As her baby Saratou lay struggling for breath, Hafsat sat by her bed side night after night holding the oxygen mask to her face.  

“They put her on oxygen,” says Hafsat. “She tried to remove the oxygen [mask]. That's why I stayed with her every night, holding her hand as she slept so that she didn't remove it. I was very unhappy. I cried and cried. I was so tired. We had many nights without sleeping.” 

While Hafsat was at the hospital, Saratou’s 14-year-old sister Amina waited anxiously for news at home. The pair share a special bond. “Right from childhood, we loved each other so much. I love her because of the way she smiles and is always happy and this also makes me happy. I am not always happy at this time, because I won’t be able to see her.” 

That would soon change though. Saratou finally began responding to her treatment – treatment that was made possible by our partnership with GSK. Our joint INSPIRING programme has equipped dozens of health centres in Nigeria with essential oxygen supplies and trained hundreds of health workers how to identify and treat cases of pneumonia – cases like Saratou’s. She was soon recovering well and was allowed to return home to her loving family. 

“I am happy she is alive,” says Hafsat. “They took good care of her at the hospital. It was like they were the ones who gave birth to her. These people, they truly assisted.” 

image credit

Yagazie Emezi / Save the Children