Learn about Pneumonia: Facts, Figures and What You Can Do

Pneumonia is the leading infectious killer of children under five years old.

• In 2015 alone, more than 900,000 children died from this preventable and treatable illness, accounting for 16% of under-five child mortality worldwide, 3% of which are newborns.¹
• Pneumonia and diarrhea are the leading causes of death in West and Central Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa and South Asia.¹ Children in poor and rural communities are most affected.
• In 2008, there were an estimated 203,000 deaths due to Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and 541,000 deaths due to Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) in children under five.²

Pneumonia creates an economic burden for families, communities, and governments.

• Preventing pneumonia averts treatment costs, other loses due to illness, and allows children to become healthy, productive adults.
• Scaling up coverage of vaccines against Hib and pneumococcus in the world’s 73 poorest countries (2011-2020) would avert $51 billion dollars in treatment costs and productivity losses.³
• This increase in vaccine coverage would also save 2.9 million lives and prevent 52 million cases of illness.³

Global Pneumonia Interventions

Controlling childhood pneumonia requires an integrated package of interventions to protect, prevent, and treat the disease. Fortunately, many of the interventions targeted at pneumonia also help control other childhood diseases, such as diarrhea, and should be part of a comprehensive approach to child survival.

Protect Against Pneumonia

• Exclusive breast feeding during the first six months of life and adequate nutrition through age five protect babies from pneumonia, diarrhea, malnutrition, and other diseases.
• Regular hand washing and access to clean water and sanitation protect children against pathogens that cause pneumonia, diarrhea, and other diseases.
• Eliminating household air pollution, especially smoke from unsafe cookstoves, reduces the risk of severe pneumonia in children.

Prevent Pneumonia

• Vaccines against pneumococcus, Hib, pertussis, and measles can prevent a significant portion of pneumonia cases from ever occurring.⁴
• Other preventative strategies include: zinc supplementation for children with diarrhea, prevention of HIV infection in children & antibiotic prophylaxis for HIV-infected children.⁴

Treat Pneumonia

• Antibiotics, such as amoxicillin, can prevent the majority of pneumonia deaths, and cost only about $US 0.21-0.42 per treatment course.⁵
• Effective, integrated case management strategies ensure that children receive proper and timely treatment for pneumonia.⁴
• Improving access to services and increasing awareness and demand for services within communities is crucial to controlling pneumonia.⁴

How can you help fight pneumonia?

• Raise awareness about the global impact of pneumonia among policy makers, health care providers, and the public by advocating for increased funding for programs that protect against, prevent & treat pneumonia.
• Hold a World Pneumonia Day event on November 12th.
• Follow us! Twitter: @NoMorePneumo
• Like us! Facebook: Prevent Pneumonia

Informational Resources

1. Factsheets and Infographics
   • Global Pneumonia Factsheet 2014 | (French version)
   • Pneumonia and Diarrhea Infographic, 2015 (PATH)
   • World Pneumonia Day – India graphic
   • Pneumonia Infographic, 2014 (GSK)
   • Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD)
   • Pneumococcal Disease Factsheet (Gavi)
   • Revised WHO Childhood Pneumonia Quick Reference Guide (2014)
   • World Pneumonia Day Infographic, 2014 (CDC)
   • If You Only Pneu on World Pneumonia Day animated video (GSK)
   • Pneumonia Prevention Infographic 2014 (Pfizer)
   • Infographic: Joint Approaches to Tackling Pneumonia & Diarrhea, 2012
2. Reports
   • Pneumonia and Diarrhea Progress Report 2014 (IVAC)
   • Pushing the Pace: Progress and Challenges in Fighting Childhood Pneumonia, 2014 (IHME)
   • A Promise Renewed: 2015 Progress Report
   • Every Newborn: An Action Plan to End Preventable Deaths, 2014
   • Revised WHO Classification and Treatment of Childhood Pneumonia at Health Facilities – Evidence Summaries (2014)
   • New guidelines on indoor air quality, 2014 (WHO)
   • Cause-specific mortality estimates for major causes of child death for 2000–2013 (published Sep 2014)
   • Pneumonia and Diarrhea: Tackling the deadliest diseases for the world’s poorest children (UNICEF)
   • WHO/UNICEF Joint Statement on Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM), 2012
   • Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) Chart Booklet, 2014
3. Journals and Articles
   • The Globe Newspaper – TACKLING THE WORLD’S DEADLIEST CHILDHOOD DISEASE
   • Pneumonia
   • Pneumonia-related articles on Citizen News Service
   • Pneumonia’s second wind? A case study of the global health network for childhood pneumonia

References

1. UNICEF. Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed. Progress Report 2015. Available at: http://www.apromiserenewed.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/APR_2015_8_Sep_15.pdf. Accessed October 14, 2015.
2. Johnson H, O’Brien KL, Levine OS, Mantel C, Cherian T, Provisional year 2008 estimate of pneumococcal and Hib disease deaths in children under 5 years of age. Based on Black et al. Lancet 2010 and O’Brien et al Lancet 2009.
3. Stack ML and Ozawa S, Decade of Vaccine Economics (DOVE) Analysis, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, International Vaccine Access Center, 2012.
4. WHO, UNICEF. The Integrated Global Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD). 2013. Available at: http://www.unicef.org/media/files/Final_GAPPD_main_Report-_EN-8_April_2013.pdf.
5. United Nations Foundation. Every Woman, Every Child. Commission on Life-Saving Commodities. 2012. Available at: http://www.lifesavingcommodities.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/UN_Commission_Report_September_2012_Final.pdf. Accessed on October 14, 2015.

* WHO World Health Statistics 2012. Global Health Indicators.
2012.