The Global crisis

For children in poor communities, diarrhea remains a major cause of death and can lead to long-term consequences.

The Solutions

Simple and proven tools can prevent and treat diarrhea, and integrating them achieves the greatest impact.

The Report

Read our State of the Field Report to discover how we can stop the cycle of diarrheal disease.

Advocacy Tools

We bring diverse sectors together to break the poo taboo.

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Poo Guru

Meet the Poo Guru! She is flush with facts about toilets, sanitation, and their vital role in global health. On World Toilet Day, she helped us raise awareness about global sanitation solutions. 

Child health in Kenya: opportunities and actions
Kenya’s new, unified policy for child health is a commitment to families and communities.
Untapped
Climate change requires new ideas in sanitation. It's time to reimagine the toilet's potential.

THE SOLUTIONS

We can save more than half a million children’s lives from diarrheal disease each year – and protect them against the long-term harm of repeated infections – with simple, inexpensive solutions that are available today. Vaccines, ORS and zinc, WASH, breastfeeding, and innovative research work best when they work together. We need greater investments in these solutions and in integrated policies to ensure holistic protection against diarrheal disease.

The Blog

Nov 22, 2023
World Toilet Day might be over, but the UN Water logo of the dedicated hummingbird from the ancient story is still flapping its wings, reminding us
Nov 16, 2023
Sanitation is a human right and yet 3.5 billion people still have no safe toilets and 419 million still have to defecate in the open.
Nov 06, 2023
World Toilet Day is a global observation recognized annually. This year, our theme is “Don’t Stall” to promote urgency in addressing some of the most
Nov 01, 2023
PATH analyzed the potential impact of a Shigella vaccine that could combat growth faltering as a result of diarrhea infection.
Oct 18, 2023
The impact of flooding, heat waves, drought, and other extreme weather events on humans – and on human health – has been a topic of discussion within
Oct 13, 2023
In this time of post-pandemic economic recovery, many countries are confronting concurrent multiple challenges including high inflation, adverse
Sep 28, 2023
It’s the end of an era for PATH and for the DefeatDD team. After 15 years at PATH, Dr. Lou Bourgeois, a well-known investigator  in the field of
Sep 20, 2023
Rotavirus vaccines are safe, effective, and reaching more children than ever before. But rotavirus still tops the list of pathogens responsible for
Aug 23, 2023
Rotavirus remains a common cause of severe diarrhea in young children in Indonesia. In a strong step forward for child health, the country introduced
Aug 01, 2023
Establishing supportive environments that enable women to balance their professional responsibilities and breastfeeding journey is essential.
Jul 25, 2023
Ever heard of the saying, "Small things can make a big difference?" Take the humble packet of Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS), for example: a simple yet
Jul 13, 2023
Local clinics are the heart of rural community health. But where can a patient turn when health care facilities, or HCFs, are unable to provide one
A young boy washes his hands at a handwashing station.
Jul 01, 2023
There's more to handwashing with soap than meets the eye.
Jun 29, 2023
Families collect water in a displacement camp outside Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they were forced to flee after a volcanic
Speaker panel on stage
Jun 08, 2023
At the 2nd Global Forum on Childhood Pneumonia, leaders renewed commitments to accelerate progress in child survival. Photo: Every Breath Counts.

Diarrhea kills half a million children each year. Awareness is the first step to action.

Where health care is hard to reach, vaccines are the best protection against severe diarrhea.

Access to ORS and zinc could prevent more than half of diarrhea deaths.

We can save more lives from diarrhea by combining all available tools.