The Lancet  
Apr 20, 2013  Volume 381  Number 9875  p1333 – 1430  e9
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Series – Childhood Pneumonia and Diarrhoea
Global burden of childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea
Christa L Fischer Walker, Igor Rudan, Li Liu, Harish Nair, Evropi Theodoratou, Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Katherine L O’Brien, Harry Campbell, Robert E Black
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Diarrhoea and pneumonia are the leading infectious causes of childhood morbidity and mortality. We comprehensively reviewed the epidemiology of childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia in 2010–11 to inform the planning of integrated control programmes for both illnesses. We estimated that, in 2010, there were 1·731 billion episodes of diarrhoea (36 million of which progressed to severe episodes) and 120 million episodes of pneumonia (14 million of which progressed to severe episodes) in children younger than 5 years.

Series – Childhood Pneumonia and Diarrhoea
Interventions to address deaths from childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea equitably: what works and at what cost?
Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Jai K Das, Neff Walker, Arjumand Rizvi, Harry Campbell, Igor Rudan, Robert E Black, for The Lancet Diarrhoea and Pneumonia Interventions Study Group
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Global mortality in children younger than 5 years has fallen substantially in the past two decades from more than 12 million in 1990, to 6·9 million in 2011, but progress is inconsistent between countries. Pneumonia and diarrhoea are the two leading causes of death in this age group and have overlapping risk factors. Several interventions can effectively address these problems, but are not available to those in need. We systematically reviewed evidence showing the effectiveness of various potential preventive and therapeutic interventions against childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia, and relevant delivery strategies.