Pneumonia Epidemic.

Byline: WARIS KARIM - Kech

Pneumonia is the world's deadliest child killer with a forgotten epidemic, claiming one young life every 39 seconds.

However, this disease killed more children 800,000 under the age of five years last year. Everyday nearly 2,200 children under the age of five die from Pneumonia. The numbers make grim reading and compare with 437,000 under five dying last year due to Diarrhoea and 272,000 due to Malaria. Furthermore, five countries accounted for more than half of the child pneumonia deaths. In Nigeria 162,000 children died, India 127,000, in Pakistan 58,000, in Democratic Republic of Congo 40,000 and in Ethiopia 32,000.

It is most caused by bacteria, uirvses or fungi and...