A child’s battle: Diarrheal disease in the developing world
OpenForum | January 28, 2010 | 1 Comment
A joint 2009 publication by UNICEF and WHO, Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done, revives action-oriented discussion about diarrheal disease — one of the world’s direst threats to babies and infants living in unsanitary, under-resourced environments. The report provides current data on the distribution and burden of the disease and on how the most affected countries are working to reduce the toll of infant diarrhea. The report also includes a strategic seven-point plan for diarrhea control, describing prevention, intervention, and treatment practices that can and should be brought to scale.
Diarrhea is the second leading cause of death for children under five globally — with pneumonia being the first — and kills approximately 1.6 million children under five each year. Eighty percent of these entirely preventable deaths occur in the poorer regions of South Asia and Africa. Although major efforts in delivering treatments and effective prevention campaigns have reduced the global impact of infant diarrheal death, many low-resource communities still face barriers to accessing low-cost, life-saving remedies for their sick children. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only 39% of children afflicted with diarrhea receive the recommended, inexpensive treatments of fluid replacement, zinc supplementation, and continued feeding.