Fighting for Breath in Afghanistan 2020: A call to action to stop children dying from pneumonia

Pneumonia is the world’s leading infectious killer of children, claiming the lives of more than 800,000 children under the age of five every year, more than 2,000 every day. It is a shocking demonstration of pervasive health inequities disproportionately affecting the most deprived and marginalised children in low- and middle-income countries. It represents a violation of children’s right to survival and development, as enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Yet pneumonia has been largely forgotten on global and national health agendas. This country briefing outlines the current situation of childhood pneumonia in Afghanistan, and details a global call for action.