NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Global health bodies highlight essential interventions that will help reduce the incidence of pneumonia as the disease remains the single biggest killer of children under five globally.

Pneumonia claims the lives of more than 1 million girls and boys every year despite pneumonia deaths being preventable.

The GAVI Alliance, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) say in a joint statement that essential action needs to be taken to help end child deaths from the disease.

“Every 30 seconds, a child younger than five dies of pneumonia. This is a great shame as we know what it takes to prevent children from dying of this illness,” said UNICEF’s chief of health, Mickey Chopra, in an official statement to commemorate the fifth World Pneumonia Day themed “Innovate to End Child Pneumonia” on Tuesday.