Research
Pneumonia is the world’s leading infectious killer – claiming 2.5 million lives, including 610,000 children, in 2023. And we can never forget that COVID-19 added another 9.4 million to the death toll in 2021, bringing the total number of respiratory infection-related deaths to 11.5 million. No other infection causes anywhere near this burden of death. Yet, a disproportionately low amount of research funding is allocated to pneumonia compared with other leading infectious killers – such as HIV/AIDS and malaria.
According to a 2020 Lancet study:
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- Pneumonia attracted just 3% of infectious disease research funding between 2000 and 2017
- 80% of pneumonia research funding came from just two US-based research funders and was narrowly focused on basic science
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This amount of funding and narrow focus is not aligned with the pneumonia’s global disease burden, pandemic risk, or the priorities of researchers and policymakers. Increasing the amount and scope of pneumonia research funding is critical to improving the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of pneumonia, and subsequently reduce the huge burden of death and our vulnerability to respiratory infection pandemics.
To mobilize more investment in childhood pneumonia research – an important subset of the global challenge – the Every Breath Counts Research Group surveyed 108 leading pneumonia experts between November 2019 and June 2021 to develop a list of research priorities with the potential to accelerate reductions in child pneumonia deaths and enable countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
They identified 20 pneumonia research priorities, with preventing neonatal pneumonia, the development of inexpensive, rapid point-of-care diagnostic and etiological tests that differentiate between bacterial, viral, and malaria infections, and access to pulse oximetry and medical oxygen emerging as leading priorities for future research.
Critically, the list of priorities differed between experts based in high-income and those based in low- and middle-income countries, with the former prioritizing the urgent need for neonatal pneumonia research while the latter prioritized vaccine and health system capacity research.
To ensure that these childhood pneumonia research priorities influence global investments in the countdown to 2030, Every Breath Counts members are engaging the leading infectious disease research funders to make the case for increased investments against these 20 priorities, with a special focus on investing in researchers and institutions based in low-resource settings.
Read more and listen here
Spotlight
Join The Union Child Pneumonia Working Group on 26 March 2026 at 8amEDT for the first meeting of 2026!
This is the only group focused on childhood pneumonia, the leading infectious killer of children, hosted by The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease.
Hear from Qure.ai about their new Gates Foundation-funded study to develop a large, open-source database of medical images, recordings, and biological markers to develop, validate, and refine new AI models to advance lung health. Qure.ai will also develop AI-enabled point-of-care ultrasound algorithms for the early detection of TB and pneumonia in children.
We will also discuss our big plans for 2026, which will culminate with The Union World Conference on Lung Health in Brazil in November 2026. Submissions are now open!
Learn more about the group here and register for the meeting here.
The Union Childhood Pneumonia Working Group
The first-ever Childhood Pneumonia Working Group has been established by The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (the Union). Co-chaired by Dr Rebecca Nantanda, Dr Eric McCollum, and Leith Greenslade, the group’s overarching goal is to be an expert scientific voice and convener communicating the latest science on the most effective strategies to prevent, diagnose, and treat child pneumonia. Our singular goal – accelerating child mortality reductions.
Specifically, the group will:
- Amplify evidence and policy solutions with the capacity to accelerate reductions in child pneumonia deaths.
- Strengthen community of practice across child pneumonia researchers and advocates linked to The Union and beyond.
- Influence the global agenda on child pneumonia through high-visibility convenings and presentations at major global health events, including the annual Union World Conference on Lung Health.
Given the concentration of child pneumonia deaths in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the group is committed to supporting scientists, research institutions, and implementation research based in these countries.
Find more information on the Working Group here and to join, email Dr Eric McCollum, ericdmccollum@gmail.com, or Leith Greenslade, leith@justactions.org.
“The Union Child Pneumonia Working Group serves as a global hub for leading and emerging scientists with a shared mission to advance research on childhood pneumonia to reduce the burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The group seeks not only to expand scientific understanding, but also to bridge the gap between research and action—informing policies, guiding programs, and shaping the interventions that will drive the next wave of reductions in child pneumonia mortality.”
Co-chairs, Eric McCollum, Rebecca Nantanda, and Leith Greenslade
New and noteworthy pneumonia research
Peer-reviewed publications with the potential to transform the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of pneumonia, especially in low-resource settings.
Supporting Early Career Researchers
List of new publications on a critical area of pneumonia research from early career researchers, especially working in low- and middle-income countries.
Child Pneumonia Research Investment Scorecard
Scorecard of the top 20 global and low- and middle-income country childhood pneumonia research priorities and the number of research grants focused on each.