Diarrheal disease: Solutions to Defeat a Global Killer

15 May 2009

Paul Chinnock

Source: PATH Resources for Diarrheal Disease Control (see original article or PDF of full report)

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PATH, well known as international, non-profit organization focusing on the health needs of the poor, has established a website that aims “to provide tools for advocates in spreading the word about the deadly toll of diarrheal disease and the solutions to stop it”. The Resources for Diarrheal Disease Control website also provides key documents and links to information. Newly published on the site is a 40-page report highlighting the broad array of lifesaving prevention and treatment solutions for addressing diarrhoeal disease in the developing world: Diarrheal Disease: Solutions to Defeat a Global Killer.

The report points out that diarrhoeal disease is one of the biggest killers of poor children and causes an estimated 1.6 million child deaths yet somehow it has slipped off the list of global health priorities since the 1980s when it was the focus of many health programmes.

Millions of children are hospitalised with diarrhoeal disease and 12% of health budgets in many countries are devoted to treating them. Nevertheless, only 4.4% of global health funding goes towards diarrhoeal disease research and development.

Diarrhoeal deaths target the poor for several reasons: poor environmental sanitation, inadequate water supply, poverty, limited education.

The PATH document presents scientific evidence to support strategies to scale up use of interventions including: safe water, improved sanitation and hygiene, breastfeeding and optimal complementary feeding, rotavirus vaccines, zinc treatment, and oral rehydration therapy (ORT)/oral rehydration solution (ORS). Data on other less well-known interventions are also presented. Also featured are case studies from several organizations which have successfully implemented preventive and treatment measures in communities that need them.

Lack of progress in lowering diarrhoeal incidence and death rates is attributed to several factors including: increased priority given to other diseases, decreased public awareness of diarrhoea as a major childhood killer and insufficient knowledge of diarrhoea amongst government officials.

The report is a powerful advocacy document and also contains much practical information.

In tandem with the new report, a PATH Call to Action is seeking to bring together partners from the health, water and sanitation, and environmental sectors to raise awareness and catalyze momentum on programmes that address diarrhoeal disease control. To sign on use this link.

WaterAid: Also recently published is a report from WaterAid which focuses on the need for better sanitation and clean water to prevent diarrhoeal disease.