Reposted from our friends at Project WET

Now that we've gotten the hang of managing a website, blog, Twitter, and Flickr account, Team defeatDD is thrilled to share that we are expanding our social media horizons with Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn!

As the hands behind the keyboard of many of defeatDD's tweets, I have witnessed firsthand the power of social media in raising awareness and fostering new partnerships toward the common aim of reducing child deaths from diarrheal disease. I am particularly thrilled to launch a Facebook page because of the opportunities to reach new audiences, which I've always seen of one of the most exciting parts of my job.

I can trace that excitement back to my first interview at PATH. It's where I learned that diarrheal disease is the second leading killer of children in Africa and Southeast Asia (sadly, new stats show that diarrhea is now the top killer in Africa). This is despite that fact that we have simple, proven interventions available today. Above all, I wondered, "Why didn't I know about this?"

I enjoy communicating about this cause because I find that people - especially newcomers to the issue - react as I did: with disbelief and with immediate support for what seems like a "no-brainer" in the field of global health.

We all have a role to play. Diarrheal disease is a multi-faceted issue with many solutions. This is one of the many reasons we value partnerships, new conversations, and fresh perspectives-and why we want to use social media to bring together various groups working on different interventions toward the same goal.

We look forward to continuing the conversation on these new platforms and hope you'll add your voice, too. Thanks for "joining the movement"!

--Hope Randall, Program Assistant for defeatDD at PATH