Plan for comprehensive diarrhea control

Diarrhoea

Diarrhoea remains the second most common cause of death among

children under five globally. Nearly one in five child deaths – about

1.5 million each year – is due to diarrhoea. It kills more young

children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined

Each year, an estimated 2.5 billion cases of diarrhoea occur among children under five years of age, and estimates suggest that overall incidence has remained relatively stable over the past two decades.

More than half of these cases are in Africa and South Asia  where bouts of diarrhoea are more likely to result in death or other severe outcomes.

The incidence of diarrhoeal diseases varies greatly with the seasons and a child’s age. The youngest children are most vulnerable:

Incidence is highest in the first two years of life and declines as a child grows older.

6-point plan for comprehensive diarrhea control.

 The plan includes a treatment package to significantly reduce child deaths due to diarrhoea, and a prevention package to make a lasting reduction in the diarrhoea burden for years to come

1.   Oral rehydration therapy and continued feeding is a life-saving treatment, which only 39  per cent of children with diarrhoea in developing countries receive.

2.   Zinc tablets are still largely unavailable in most developing countries, although their effectiveness in reducing the severity and duration of diarrhoea episodes is well known.

3.   Immunization against rotavirus, which results in an estimated 40 per cent of hospital admissions due to diarrhoea among children under five, is urgently needed worldwide, especially in Africa and Asia.

4.   Safe water, adequate sanitation and proper hygiene are too often forgotten foundations of good health. Handwashing with soap alone could potentially reduce the number of diarrhoea cases by over 40 per cent.

5.   Breastfeeding is critical to both the prevention and treatment of diarrhoea. Infants who are exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life and continue to be breastfed until two years of age and beyond develop fewer infections and have less severe illnesses, including diarrhoea.

6.   Vitamin A supplementation has been shown to significantly reduce child deaths, mostly from diarrhoea and measles.

United Nations Children’s Fund

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World Health