Daily Monitor Monday February 08 2021 A man wears a mask on 8th Street, Namuwongo in Kampala on September 1, 2020. PHOTO/ DAVID LUBOWA Advertisement Health facilities in Kampala Metropolitan Area have registered 48 per cent decline in acute respiratory illnesses among children aged below five, a new report indicates. Up to 21,983 deaths nationally occurred among children aged below five, who suffered from respiratory illnesses, with pneumonia being one of the major causes, according to the 2019/2020 Annual Health Sector Performance Report. Dr Theresa Piloya, a paediatric endocrinologist at Makerere University, who led the study in six health facilities in two sub-counties in Wakiso District, attributed the decline to Covid-19 prevention measures such as hand washing and wearing facemasks.