Diarrheal disease is the second-leading killer of children under five, responsible for 1.3 million child deaths annually.1
Despite substantial gains with effective interventions in the 1980s and 1990s, severe dehydration due to diarrhea continues to threaten too many children’s lives, particularly in the developing world. Simple, available, and proven tools promise dramatic reductions in diarrhea-related illness and deaths worldwide. In addition to established interventions that include oral rehydration therapy [2], exclusive breastfeeding [3], and improved hygiene [4], new tools like zinc [5] and vaccines [6] bring new opportunities to re-invigorate interest and catalyze investments in diarrheal disease control.
Still, you may wonder: Why does an easily preventable and treatable disease, one that the rich world considers little more than an inconvenience, cause an estimated 1.3 million under-five deaths every year?
Read on [7].
1UNICEF, World Health Organization. Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done. [8] New York, Geneva: UNICEF, WHO; 2009.