Every breath should keep a child alive – not take it away.

Despite medical advances, pneumonia remains the world’s leading infectious killer of children under five, claiming over 740,000 young lives every year — about one in seven child deaths worldwide (WHO & UNICEF).

For every minute that passes, little children are losing their fight for breath in homes, schools, and clinics. Every 39 seconds, somewhere in the world, a child takes their last breath — not from war or hunger, but from pneumonia. This single disease robs more than 800,000 children under five of their futures each year, quietly becoming the world’s deadliest infectious killer of young children.

In Nigeria, the numbers are even more heartbreaking. In just one year, 162,000 children — that’s 18 every hour — were lost to pneumonia. It’s not just a statistic; it’s classrooms left with empty seats and mothers with arms that will never hold their babies again.

Even more alarming, over 67,000 Nigerian children under five died in 2019 from air-pollution-related pneumonia, with indoor air pollution responsible for most of these deaths — the very air children breathe at home and in classrooms (UNICEF). Clean air isn’t a luxury; for our children, it’s survival.

Unless decisive action is taken, projections show that 1.4 million Nigerian children under five could die from pneumonia between 2020–2030 if current trends continue (UNICEF).

Why This Matters

Pneumonia, caused by Legionella bacteria begins with flu-like symptoms such as cough, fever, headache, muscle pain, and shortness of breath. A child gets infected occurs when microscopic water droplets (aerosols) carrying the bacteria are inhaled, often from air conditioning systems, hot tubs, or contaminated water sources, making it a serious airborne threat.

For a child, pneumonia is not just a cough or a cold. It means tiny air sacs in the lungs (the alveoli) filling with fluid and pus, causing difficulty breathing, low oxygen levels, hospitalization, and in severe cases, death or long-term lung damage (WHO).

The most tragic part? Many of these deaths are preventable.
Preventive measures include immunization (against pneumonia-causing bacteria and viruses), good nutrition, and reducing environmental risks such as improving indoor air pollution (WHO).

Clean Air – An Often-Overlooked Lifesaver

While vaccines, nutrition, and early treatment are often in the spotlight, clean indoor air is a foundational element of child survival that deserves equal attention.

In Nigeria, indoor air pollution from cooking fuels, open fires, and poorly ventilated indoor spaces with a carrier or an infected person is a major contributor to pneumonia deaths in young children. In fact, 78% of air-pollution-related pneumonia deaths among under-fives in Nigeria are linked to indoor air pollution (UNICEF).

Improving indoor air quality helps reduce the inhalation of fine particles, bacteria, and viruses that trigger or worsen lung infections like pneumonia.

Introducing a Sustainable Solution

The Healthy Air D-Orbital Nano Oxide (DNO) Catalyst Indoor Air Purifier offers a proactive defense for the spaces where children live, learn, and heal.

This medical-grade air purification system uses patented nano oxide catalyst technology to eliminate 99.99% airborne contaminants including the bacteria (Legionella), mould spores, viruses, and pollutants that invade children’s respiratory systems.

When installed in homes, classrooms, indoor play areas, or paediatric wards, the DNO Catalyst Air Purifier helps eliminate invisible threats from the air, thereby:

• Lowering the risk of pneumonia and other respiratory infections in children;
• Creating a cleaner, safer air environment for vulnerable lungs;
• Complementing other child-survival measures such as nutrition, vaccination, and timely treatment.

A Safer Future Starts with Every Breath

On this World Pneumonia Day 2025, let’s reaffirm that child survival must include clean air. It’s no longer enough to focus only on vaccines and medication, we must ensure the very air children breathe indoors is safe.

If you are a parent, school manager, paediatrician, public health advocate, or facility owner: protect the small lungs in your care. Invest in the Healthy Air DNO Catalyst Indoor Air Purifier for your home, classroom, indoor play space, or paediatric ward because every breath counts.

Take action today: Equip your space with Healthy Air’s DNO Catalyst Purification System and join us in creating a world where no child dies from pneumonia simply because the air they breathe was unsafe.

You are welcomed to contact us for free indoor air quality monitoring in your homes or facilities. Let us change the narrative and put an end to child mortality!

Research Links

1. UNICEF – Nigeria contributes highest number of global pneumonia child deaths
2. UNICEF – Nigeria has highest number of air pollution-related child pneumonia deaths
3. UNICEF – Two million children in Nigeria could die next decade unless more is done to fight pneumonia
4. World Health Organization – Pneumonia Fact Sheet
5. Healthy Air Nigeria – Defend Your Air: Conquering Legionnaire Bacteria with D-Orbital Nano Oxide Catalyst Air Purifiers