Nearly 11 million children are on course to die from pneumonia by 2030, with those living in poverty most at risk, researchers have warned.

An analysis from Save the Children and Johns Hopkins University found that around 10.8 million children could die from the disease over the next 12 years.

But at least a third - some four million - of these deaths could be averted if vaccination rates, treatment and child nutrition were improved, according to forecasts from the Lives Saved Tool (LiST) developed by a team at Johns Hopkins.

“This is the ultimate disease of poverty,” Kevin Watkins, CEO of Save the Children, told The Telegraph. “Children who are malnourished or live in urban slums are typically at a greater risk."

"There’s something unspeakably wrong about the fact that the number one killer of children gets so little priority from governments, donors and the public," he added.