Monsoon health alert: Centre urges states to prioritize hygiene and clean water to combat diarrhoeal diseases
A joint communication from the ministries of health, women and child development, agriculture, education, water and sanitation, and urban development and housing, called for enhanced access to clean water, stronger nutrition programmes, and widespread promotion of hygiene, while ensuring the availability of oral rehydration salts (ORS) and zinc at all health facilities.
Acute Diarrheal Disease or ADD is usually caused by infections from viruses, bacteria, or parasites. The disease can spread through contaminated food, water, poor hygiene and unsanitary conditions.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), diarrhoeal disease is the third-leading cause of death in children under five and is responsible for killing around 444,000 children every year worldwide. About 1.7 billion cases of childhood diarrhoeal disease occur every year.
In India too, diarrhoea is a leading cause of death in children under five. While official figures are not available, according to figures published by PubMed, an open access data resource, around 300,000 children died from diarrhoea in 2014-15 in India.
According to sources in the know of the matter, this declined to 60,000 deaths in 2023-24. in 2023.
Some states are already seeing a large number of cases. Karnataka reported 64,229 cases of ADD and two deaths this year until 8 May, compared with 183,777 cases and eight deaths in 2024, according to the Karnataka State health department.
Similarly, 26 acute ADD cases and a death were reported from a village in Dibrugarh, Assam, in 2023.
The government is currently running a campaign until 31 July to encourage states in preparatory activities. These include establishing State Task Forces, building the capacity of health workers, and being prepared for distribution of ORS-Zinc packs.
The risk of diarrhoea increases during the monsoon season.
'States and UTs are urged to conduct interdepartmental task force meetings, develop communication strategies including social and behavior change communication (SBCC), and ensure ORS and Zinc co-packaging at the healthcare facilities and distribution to children under five years of age,' stated the communication to the states seen by Mint.
A senior government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, emphasized the effectiveness of the rotavirus vaccine in protecting against a common cause of childhood diarrhea-related deaths.
'The government's "Swachh Bharat Abhiyan" and initiatives for clean water supply have been instrumental in reducing diarrheal infections in children. Around 20 years back, almost every child under 5 years of age used to suffer from diarrhoea per year, which has now reduced to one-fourth due to good efforts on clean and safe water and good sanitation," the official stated.
The official said diarrhoea significantly increases the risk of malnutrition in children by 5-7 times and the fatality rate is higher if a child is malnourished.
'Therefore, zinc is administered with ORS to control diarrhea, aid recovery, and prevent malnutrition. The treatment for diarrhea is easy, involving maintaining high hygiene standards, keeping the child hydrated, and providing nutritious meals.'
Queries sent to the spokespersons of the ministries mentioned above remained unanswered.
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