ARIAtlas.org. Pneumonia is responsible for nearly 20 percent of child deaths globally. Source: ARIAtlas.org, World Lung Foundation 2010

PneumoniaARIAtlas.org

Pneumonia is responsible for nearly 20 percent of child deaths globally.

Source: ARIAtlas.org, World Lung Foundation 2010

•Almost 1.6 million deaths from pneumonia occur

annually in children under five, about one-fifth of all

pediatric deaths around the world (based on 8.8 million

pediatric deaths from all causes in 2008). By contrast,

732,000 children die from malaria and 200,000 from

HIV/AIDS each year.

Global Impact

•Every year, an estimated 156 million new cases of pneumonia

occur, 97 percent of them in the developing world. Seventy-four

percent of those cases occur in just 15 countries, mostly in South

Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, with 43 million cases in India alone.

•Improved living standards and access to antibiotics transformed

the trajectory of pneumonia in the developed world during the

20th century. In the United States, pneumonia-related deaths

among children fell by 97 percent between 1939 and 1996.

Global Impact

Actions That Make a Difference

•Breastfeeding plays a key role in preventing

pneumonia, providing proteins, enzymes, and other

cells with immunological properties, as well as all the

nutrients an infant needs.


•Access to antibiotics and vaccines should be scaled up.

Treating all children who need them with antibiotics could

cure most cases of bacterial pneumonia and save as many

as 600,000 lives every year. Children in countries that do

not have access to the Streptococcus pneumoniae and

Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccines are 40 times more

likely to die than those living in countries that administer

the vaccines routinely.


•Prompt treatment of pneumonia is imperative. As

many as 20 percent of infected children will die if they

are left untreated, sometimes within three days after

symptoms first appear. Adequate oxygen systems

reduce mortality, but they are overlooked by the global

health community as a key component of care.


•Caregivers need to be educated about pneumonia. In the

developing world about 20 percent of caregivers recognize

its symptoms, and only about 54 percent respond to those

symptoms by taking the child to a health care provider.

•WHO says that a combination of vaccines, standard case

management, and breastfeeding counseling could prevent

5.3 million pneumonia deaths over five years.

The burden of pneumonia in the developing world

is nearly ten times that of the developed world.


The lower a country’s income, the more child deaths from pneumonia.


World Bank Income Group (2004)

Deaths from childhood pneumonia can be

dramatically reduced with a package of proven

interventions.


Projected Lives Saved with Proven Pneumonia Interventions among “Countdown to 2015”Countries

Half the severe cases of pneumonia among children in developing

countries are caused by pathogens that can be stopped by vaccines.


Pathogens That Cause Pneumonia

Pneumonia is responsible for almost 1.6 million deaths a year in

children under five.


Vaccines can prevent most childhood pneumonia,

but HIV lessens their effectiveness.


Percent of Children under Five in Whom Pneumonia Vaccines Are Effective

Documents

ARIAtlas.org. Pneumonia is responsible for nearly 20 percent of child deaths globally. Source: ARIAtlas.org, World Lung Foundation 2010