Diarrhea kills 1.5 million children every year - UN
10/15/2009 | 09:24 AM
UNITED NATIONS — Diarrhea kills an estimated 1.5 million children in the developing world every year even though inexpensive treatments exist, the U.N. health and children's agencies said in a report issued Wednesday.
Though most episodes of childhood diarrhea are mild, acute cases can lead to significant fluid loss and dehydration, which can cause death unless fluids are quickly replaced, the report said.
"It is a tragedy that diarrhea, which is little more than an inconvenience in the developed world, kills an estimated 1.5 million children each year," UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman said in a statement. "Inexpensive and effective treatments for diarrhea exist, but in developing countries only 39 per cent of children with diarrhea receive the recommended treatment."
According to the report, just 15 countries account for almost three-quarters of diarrhea deaths among children under five years of age — India, Nigeria, Congo, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Uganda, Kenya, Niger, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Mali and Angola.
"We know where children are dying of diarrhea," Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, said in a statement: "We know what must be done to prevent those deaths."
The U.N. and other organizations must work with governments and partners to put a plan to prevent diarrhea deaths into action, she said.
It includes two treatments: replacing fluids to prevent dehydration, and taking zinc tablets, which decrease the severity and duration of the attack.
And it includes five prevention elements: immunization against measles and Rotavirus which spreads from person-to-person and is the commonest cause of severe diarrhea in children; early and exclusive breast-feeding and vitamin A supplements; hand-washing with soap; improved water supplies; and promoting community-wide sanitation. - AP
Though most episodes of childhood diarrhea are mild, acute cases can lead to significant fluid loss and dehydration, which can cause death unless fluids are quickly replaced, the report said.
"It is a tragedy that diarrhea, which is little more than an inconvenience in the developed world, kills an estimated 1.5 million children each year," UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman said in a statement. "Inexpensive and effective treatments for diarrhea exist, but in developing countries only 39 per cent of children with diarrhea receive the recommended treatment."
According to the report, just 15 countries account for almost three-quarters of diarrhea deaths among children under five years of age — India, Nigeria, Congo, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Uganda, Kenya, Niger, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Mali and Angola.
"We know where children are dying of diarrhea," Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, said in a statement: "We know what must be done to prevent those deaths."
The U.N. and other organizations must work with governments and partners to put a plan to prevent diarrhea deaths into action, she said.
It includes two treatments: replacing fluids to prevent dehydration, and taking zinc tablets, which decrease the severity and duration of the attack.
And it includes five prevention elements: immunization against measles and Rotavirus which spreads from person-to-person and is the commonest cause of severe diarrhea in children; early and exclusive breast-feeding and vitamin A supplements; hand-washing with soap; improved water supplies; and promoting community-wide sanitation. - AP
