Pneumonia kills more children than any other illness -- more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. Approximately 2 million children under five die from the disease each year, accounting for nearly one in five child deaths globally.

These figures, however, do not include deaths due to pneumonia during the neonatal period. It is estimated that 26 per cent of neonatal deaths, and 10 per cent of under-five deaths, are caused by severe infections. And a large proportion of these infections are caused by sepsis/pneumonia. If these deaths were added to the overall estimate, pneumonia could account for up to 3 million, or as many as one-third (29 per cent) of under-five deaths worldwide.