Pneumonia & Flu Overview

Safe, effective, and affordable vaccines can prevent most causes of pneumonia but are not reaching all those who need them.

Immunizing children with the currently available vaccines against the viruses and bacteria that cause pneumonia is the best way to halt pneumonia. However, some vaccines are limited in supply and often too costly for health programs in poor countries to afford.

As a result, pneumonia still remains a significant cause of death in poor countries.

Pneumonia still causes more than 2 million infant and child deaths each year and is the leading killer of children under five.

Pneumonia remains “the forgotten killer of children” due to a lack of attention and funding.

The global community’s lack of awareness of pneumonia and its impact on families and communities has meant a lack of funding toward this issue.

Our goal is to lower the number of children who die from pneumonia.

We believe it is possible to halt the effects of pneumonia in the developing world. Our long-term goal is to reduce childhood deaths from pneumonia in the developing world to the same levels as those in the developed world.

Next: Our Approach

Better understand the causes and burden of pneumonia

In 30 to 40 percent of pneumonia cases, the cause of the disease is unknown. We’re supporting research to find the specific causes of pneumonia so that better treatments can be developed as well as to better understand the extent to which pneumonia infects different populations.

Deliver and develop pneumonia vaccines

We believe that vaccines are the best long-term hope to defeat pneumonia. In cases where proven vaccines against pneumonia exist, we’re supporting their rapid scale-up and delivery to those who need them. In cases where vaccines against certain types of viruses or bacteria that cause pneumonia are lacking, we’re supporting the development of new affordable and effective ones.

Develop new diagnostics and treatments

State-of-the-art methods to diagnose and treat children with pneumonia are widely used in wealthy nations, but are too expensive to implement in poor countries. We are investing in activities to develop low-cost diagnostics and improve the availability of pediatric medicines, particularly antibiotics for young babies and children in less-developed countries.

Advocate for commitment and funding for pneumonia

Though pneumonia contributes to a large number of deaths and disability, funding for pneumonia still greatly lags behind other diseases. Additionally, the framework for international cooperation in the event of a flu pandemic is weak. We are currently making investments to catalyze governments, the private sector, and donors to increase funding for pneumonia and to improve pandemic flu preparedness in poor countries.