UN calls for action to be taken to curb pneumonia deaths

The UN has said more needs to be done to stop children across the globe dying from pneumonia.

According to Ban Ki-Moon, great progress on tackling this problem has been made in the last few years, but this needs to continue in order to drive further improvements.

"Pneumonia can be prevented and cured," he commented.

"Yet for too long it has been the leading cause of global deaths among children."

Figures from Unicef indicate that during 2011, pneumonia was responsible for 1.3 million deaths among under-fives around the world.

This, it said, means it is responsible for almost one-fifth of global child fatalities.

Mr Ban said the global community needs to "scale up proven solutions" and make sure they get to every single child that is in need.

Unicef added that while the death rate has come down significantly in the last ten years, more money needs to go towards making sure treatment and healthcare facilities are accessible to children in developing nations in particular.