Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to tackle pneumonia in developing countries.

The UK is the largest donor to Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, which provides developing countries with pneumococcal vaccine to protect against the main cause of pneumonia. 109 million children were given this vaccine between 2010 and 2016, thanks to Gavi’s support, saving an estimated 762,000 lives.

DFID supports Gavi’s Pneumococcol Advanced Market commitment, an innovative funding mechanism that incentivises pharmaceutical companies to produce vaccines for the world’s poorest countries at an affordable cost. DFID also supports countries to build stronger health systems that can respond to existing disease burdens and emerging health issues, including pneumonia, and works to tackle malnutrition, a key risk factor for severe pneumonia.