Pneumonia is a disease of the lungs responsible for more deaths of children under the age of 5 than any other infectious disease. India has the highest number of childhood pneumonia cases in the world, both in terms of morbidity and mortality. Around 1.5 lakh children lose their life due to pneumonia each year with 30 million new cases reported annually.
In children under five years, pneumonia contributes to nearly a sixth (15%) of all deaths in India, with one child dying from pneumonia every four minutes.