Major gaps in childhood pneumonia research priorities remain

Authors: Angharad Steele, Carina King, Rebecca Nantanda, Elizabeth Berryman, Leith Greenslade, Kevin Baker

Funders of infectious disease research must turn their focus to identified pneumonia research priorities in order to work towards the Sustainable Development Goal for child survival.

Pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of death in children younger than 5 years, accounting for 14% of child deaths globally, and is a major barrier to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for child survival (SDG 3.2). Despite the role that research can have in reducing childhood pneumonia deaths, less than 3% of infectious disease research funding was spent on pneumonia between 2000 and 2015, compared with 38% for HIV and AIDS.

Funders of infectious disease research can maximise their contribution… by investing in better ways to reduce the leading causes of death among children and by strengthening the research capacity and networks in the LMICs most affected.

This letter is published in full at The Lancet Respiratory Medicine