A non-profit research organization specializing in sub-Saharan African healthcare issues revealed that one in five children who are admitted to national hospitals with severe burn injuries do not make it out of the country.
Children who suffer burn injuries are more likely to die than other types of injuries. According to Public Health Alliance International Ghana (PHAIG), this is because some mothers try to treat their children’s wounds at home, which can lead to a higher death rate.
“The mothers try to treat them at home because they don’t have the financial wherewithal to take them to a hospital. Again, because they feel they can handle it on their own when, really, they cannot, until infection sets in before they bring the patient to a health facility,” the Vice-President of the organisation, Dr Samuel Nuamah, explained.
Dr. Nuamah continued, saying that the leading cause of death for patients with burn injuries, particularly those involving youngsters, was really infection rather than dehydration.
He added that some medical facilities, particularly those in rural areas, lacked the specialists necessary to handle these kinds of cases, which resulted in less-than-ideal care for the patients. By the time the case was transferred to another facility, significant harm may have already been done.
According to Dr. Nuamah, a public health specialist, these are the reasons behind the organization’s decision to launch the “Paediatric Burns Campaign,” which aims to prevent and mitigate the severe consequences of burn injuries on children in Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa.
“These youngsters have a better chance of surviving if they are taken in by first responders who are capable of helping them and if they are found early enough. We acknowledge that these were among the elements influencing the increased death rate among kids who had burn injuries,” he said.
Dr. Nuamah explained the reasons why children suffer severe burn injuries more often than adults. She said that because of their distorted perception of danger, children do not flee from danger the way adults would; instead, they stay in that situation until their parents or another adult pulls them out.
