Pneumonia and diarrhea are responsible for nearly one in every four deaths among children under 5, accounting for more than 1.2 million young lives lost in 2017 alone. The 2019 Pneumonia & Diarrhea Progress Report Card by the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health describes efforts to fight pneumonia and diarrhea across 23 countries with the greatest burden of disease from these illnesses.

The report uses the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD) by UNICEF and the World Health Organization as a framework, analyzing publicly available WHO, UNICEF, and national survey data to score countries on their progress toward targets for 10 key GAPPD interventions: exclusive breastfeeding, oral rehydration solution (ORS), zinc, pneumonia care-seeking, antibiotics, and coverage of five vaccines (DTP3, MCV1, Hib3, PCV3, and rotavirus).

Key findings in 2019:

• All 23 countries analyzed fell short of the overall GAPPD score target as well as both the pneumonia- and diarrhea-specific GAPPD score targets.
• Immunization coverage continues to improve, but newer vaccines like rotavirus and PCV have yet to be introduced in many of the highest-burden countries.
• Coverage of breastfeeding and treatment interventions lags behind immunization coverage.

Access the full report card and supplementary materials here.