Implementing the New Recommendations on the Clinical Management of Diarrhoea

Acute diarrhoea remains a leading cause of childhood deaths – despite the undeniable success of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) over the years. Since 1978, when the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) adopted ORT using oral rehydration salts (ORS) solution as the primary tool to fight dehydration, the mortality rate for children under the age of five suffering from acute diarrhoea has fallen from 4.5 million to 1.8 million deaths annually. However, in spite of this impressive achievement, acute diarrhoea remains a leading cause of death among children in developing countries.