What it is
Pneumonia is a severe form of acute lower respiratory infection affecting the lungs. In young children it can progress quickly. The main coverage measure is whether advice or treatment was sought from a health provider for a child whose caregiver reported symptoms consistent with pneumonia.
Why it matters
What pneumonia care can provide
- 01It is the largest infectious cause of child deathPneumonia claims the lives of over 700,000 children under five each year, including around 190,000 newborns. Almost all of these deaths are considered preventable.
- 02It can progress within hoursA child with pneumonia can deteriorate rapidly, which is why prompt care-seeking, correct assessment, and antibiotic treatment where indicated are central to survival.
- 03Incidence is concentratedThere are over 1,400 cases per 100,000 children globally, with the greatest incidence in South Asia at around 2,500 per 100,000 and in West and Central Africa at around 1,620 per 100,000.
- 04Progress has lagged other causesSince 2000, deaths among children under five due to pneumonia have fallen by 54 per cent, while deaths due to diarrhoea have fallen by 63 per cent over the same period.
Where we are
The latest pooled estimate is below the estimate centred on 2008
Advice or treatment is sought from a health provider for about 62 per cent of children under five with symptoms of pneumonia.
This is lower than the estimate for the period around 2008, when it stood at 67.1 per cent, and it has fallen across each comparison period since. Of the coverage indicators shown on this site, pneumonia care-seeking is the only one whose most recent pooled estimate is lower than its earliest.
The coverage estimate does not establish why. A decline could reflect changes in care-seeking behaviour, in service availability, or in how caregivers report symptoms. Distinguishing between these would require investigation at country level.
Care-seeking for children under five with symptoms consistent with pneumonia.
62.1%coverage
MNCH global aggregates, February 2026
Coverage records whether advice or treatment was sought from a health provider. It does not record whether the child was assessed correctly, or whether antibiotics were given where they were indicated.
Change over time
Change over time
Children under five with symptoms of pneumonia for whom care was sought, globally. Points are pooled multi-year periods rather than annual observations.
What is measured
Symptoms are reported by caregivers, not clinically confirmed
Coverage is measured among children under five whose caregiver reported symptoms consistent with pneumonia in the two weeks preceding a household survey. Cases are not clinically confirmed, so the denominator includes children who may have had a different respiratory illness.
- Acute respiratory infection
- Any infection of the upper or lower respiratory system. Acute lower respiratory infections affect the airways below the epiglottis and include severe infections such as pneumonia.
- Care-seeking for pneumonia symptoms
- The percentage of children under age five with symptoms consistent with pneumonia in the two weeks preceding the survey for whom advice or treatment was sought from a health provider.
Read these figures with care
- Symptoms are caregiver-reported and not clinically confirmed, so the measure covers suspected rather than diagnosed pneumonia.
- Care-seeking records contact with a provider, not whether the child was correctly assessed or treated.
- A fall in the pooled estimate does not by itself identify a cause. Behaviour, service availability and reporting can each move it, and the set of countries contributing to each pooled period is not identical.
Where to get the data
Where to find the data
References
- UNICEF, Every child's right to survive: An agenda to end pneumonia deaths.
- UNICEF, One is Too Many: Ending child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea.
- UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, Levels and Trends in Child Mortality.
Related topics
Copy last reviewed July 2026.