PARIS, France — Pneumonia is the world's deadliest child killer, with a "forgotten epidemic" claiming one young life every 39 seconds, international health and children's agencies warned Tuesday. The disease is preventable but still kills more children—800,000 under the age of five last year—than any other infection, they said in a statement to mark World Pneumonia Day. "Every day, nearly 2,200 children under the age of five die from pneumonia, a curable and mostly preventable disease," Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF, said in a joint statement. "This is a forgotten global epidemic that demands an urgent international response," said Kevin Watkins, chief executive of Save the Children UK. In January, the agencies will host world leaders in Spain at the first ever Global Forum on Childhood Pneumonia.

Source: Philippine Star November 12, 2019 02:02 UTC