Pneumonia and diarrhoea : tackling the deadliest diseases for the world’s poorest children

Pneumonia and diarrhoea are leading killers of the world’s youngest children, accounting for 29 per cent of deaths among children under age 5
worldwide – or more than 2 million lives lost each year. This toll is highly concentrated in the poorest regions and countries and among the most disadvantaged children within these societies. Nearly 90 per cent of deaths due to pneumonia and diarrhoea occur in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The concentration of deaths due to pneumonia and diarrhoea among the poorest children reflects a broader trend of uneven progress in reducing child mortality. Far fewer children are dying today than 20 years ago – compare 12 million child deaths in 1990 with 7.6 million in 2010, thanks mostly to rapid expansion of basic public health and nutrition interventions, such as immunization, breastfeeding and safe drinking water. But coverage of low-cost curative interventions against pneumonia and diarrhoea remains low, particularly among the most vulnerable. [authors abstract]