To coincide with the observance of the first World Pneumonia Day on Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF intend releasing a worldwide plan which, by over the next six -year period, will save over 5 million children from falling prey to pneumonia, the leading cause of child-deaths.

According to UN officials, $39 billion will be needed to reach the goal of checking the spread of the pneumonia by 2015. The disease takes its toll on nearly 1.8 million children, aged below five years, every year; and is highly prevalent in 68 developing countries in Asia, Africa, and parts of Central and South America.

With the WHO and the UN making a joint appeal to fund a six-year plan for pneumonia prevention and treatment, Margaret Chan, WHO's director general, said: "We know the strategy will work, and if it is applied in every high-burden country, we will be able to prevent millions of deaths."

In their proposed call to combat pneumonia, the strategies that they suggested included the increase use of vaccines; breast-feeding of the babies entirely for the first six months; boost in proper treatment; and immediate implementation of the plan by the policymakers.

The agencies said that the proposed measures will help reduce pneumonia deaths by 65 percent and the number of severe pneumonia cases in children by 25 percent vis-à-vis the 2000 levels.