@article{1303d6d6e6ad4a73be081404609a6a37,
title = "Child Healthcare and Immunizations in Sub-Saharan Africa During the COVID-19 Pandemic",
abstract = "Since COVID-19 in the pediatric population is infrequently severe, the indirect costs of the pandemic, related to the measures implemented to deal with the spread of the virus, can be worse than the infection itself. To assess this issue, we evaluated the number of children vaccinated or evaluated for the most common diseases in a poor village in Sierra Leone, showing a worrisome drop in vaccinations performed and children evaluated for acute diseases. Our preliminary findings highlight that support is needed to guarantee basic services to children during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in poor settings where preventive measures can be lifesaving in the long term.",
keywords = "Africa, children, COVID-19, malaria, pneumonia, SARS-CoV-2, vaccination",
author = "Danilo Buonsenso and Bianca Cinicola and Kallon, {Memenatu Ngaima} and Francesco Iodice",
note = "Funding Information: We are grateful to all of our colleagues who supported the development of local health services and training of community health workers in the Western Rural Area of Sierra Leone and, in particular, Ismail Jaber, Matilda Yamba, Prince Williams, MK, Nee Turay, Pietro Sollena, Francesca Vassallo, Vittorio Sabatino, Mara Caramia, Gregory Leeb, Valeria Pansini, Filippo Bruno, Andrea Deidda, Arianna Cafarotti, Mattia Belardinelli, Alessia De Nisco, Stefano Rocchi, Irene Sollena, Davide Guglielmi, Maria Giulia Conti, Jessica Balerna, Francesco Madeddu, Daniele Barbuto, Luigi Torricelli, and Rachel Mannings. We are also grateful to Cassa Galeno, which granted DB a project aimed at the development of the Italian-Sierra Leone research network in pediatrics. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} Copyright {\textcopyright} 2020 Buonsenso, Cinicola, Kallon and Iodice. Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",
year = "2020",
month = aug,
day = "6",
doi = "10.3389/fped.2020.00517",
language = "English",
volume = "8",
journal = "Frontiers in Pediatrics",
issn = "2296-2360",
publisher = "Frontiers Media S. A.",
}