Diarrhoea Control Fortnight launched
5.6 pc of 3.4 lakh kids below 5yrs likely to suffer from diarrhoea: DR N Somorjit
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, July 04 2022:
With the aim of preventing deaths among children due to diarrhoea, National Health Mission (NHM) State Mission Director Dr Somorjit Ningombam on Monday launched the Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF), which is to be observed from June 6, during a press meet held at his office chamber in Health Directorate, Lamphelpat here.
Speaking to newspersons in this connection, Dr Somorjit informed that the campaign was launched with the aim of lowering the mortality of children below the age of 5 to 23/1000 live births by 2025.Around 6.5 percent of children below 5 years of age in the country die due to diarrhoea.
As such, IDCF was launched in this regard, he explained.
Informing that ORS and Zinc tablets could help save the life of children suffering from dehydration due to diarrhoea, Dr Somorjit, however, lamented that although around 60 percent of parents know how to feed ORS to their kids when they suffer from diarrhoea, only 20 percent are aware that Zinc tables must also be administered to the kids.
Thus, the IDCF campaign was launched in 2016 to spread awareness amongst at least 90 percent of the masses by 2025, he recalled.
He continued: "In Manipur's context, around 5.6 per cent of the 3.4 lakh children (below 5 years of age) are likely to suffer from diarrheal episode.
IDCF expects that around 81,490 children will suffer from a diarrheal episode.
Thus, the government has taken up necessary measures to prevent any such scenario".
Informing that parents/guardians will be taught on how to provide ORS and administer Zinc tablets during the two-week programme, in addition to providing the ORS and Zinc tablets to every child in each household through health workers and Anganwadi workers; Dr N Somorjit stated that information will be shared on when to take the children to hospital when a diarrheal episode occurs and how the health care workers are supposed to treat such cases.
Furthermore, a mobile health team will be dispatched to carry out the campaign in remote areas, he conveyed.
The press meet was also attended by Child Health SNO Dr Sylvia Ayam and NHM officials.