When kids get pneumonia in the United States and Europe, they don’t usually die from it. In the rest of the world, there’s still a very good chance that they will.

Over the years, improvements in living conditions and scientific advances have reduced the impact of pneumonia in rich countries. Yet, this preventable disease is the leading cause of child deaths in developing countries—pneumonia kills an estimated 1.6 million kids under the age of 5 each year.

The good news is that this problem is solvable. We have safe, effective, and affordable tools to prevent and treat pneumonia. We know that giving children a healthy start in life with breastfeeding and proper nutrition makes a difference. We currently have vaccines for several major causes of pneumonia, including pneumococcus, Haemophilus influenza type b, and measles. We also have antibiotics to treat those children who do get sick.

Last year, Rwanda became the first developing country to introduce pneumococcal vaccines. With support from the GAVI Alliance, Rwanda has vaccinated 90 percent of its children against pneumococcus, the leading cause of fatal pneumonia. That’s amazing progress in one year. Think of how many lives could be saved if more countries were able protect their children from pneumonia.

Many developing countries haven’t been able to afford the pneumococcal vaccine. Thankfully, an Advanced Market Commitment (AMC) was negotiated to bring the cost of the vaccine from $70 per dose down to $3.50. Thanks to this agreement with pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer Inc, several governments, and partners including our foundation, the World Bank, World Health Organization, and UNICEF, an additional 47 countries are expected to introduce pneumococcal vaccine by 2015.

The pneumococcal AMC is a huge step toward ensuring that children in developing countries are protected from a major preventable disease, and could save more than seven million lives by 2030.

However, more innovation is needed. In addition to expanding access for current vaccines, we must develop new vaccines that protect against a broader range of disease types and are more affordable. We also need new tools to diagnose and treat pneumonia.

We have been making tremendous progress in reducing child deaths. But we can’t stop now. In order to achieve Millennium Development Goal 4 to reduce child mortality by two-thirds by 2015, we must raise awareness and intensify efforts to address pneumonia.