Millions of lives could be saved if more money was spent on studying and tackling common lung infections, say experts.
Pneumonia kills more women than breast, ovarian and cervical cancer combined, however it only receives a fraction of the funding compared to cancer research.
The World Lung Foundation has released a global “atlas” which, it says, details “hotspots” for respiratory infections.
Pneumonia is one of the biggest killers, with the death rate 215 times higher in low-income countries compared with high-income countries.
Children are particularly vulnerable, with an estimated 1.6 million deaths each year in the under five-year-old group
According to the report, approximately £19.4m is spent per year on research into new drugs, compared with £68m on HIV and related illnesses.