Proportion of children under five years old with diarrhoea receiving oral rehydration salts

Maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and ageing

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Indicator name: 
 Children with diarrhoea receiving oral rehydration solution (ORS) (%) 
Short name: 
 ORS for children 

                            Topic:
                        

                                Health service coverage
                            

Rationale:

Diarrhoeal diseases remain one of the major causes of mortality among under-fives, despite all the progress in its management and the effectiveness of oral rehydration therapy (ORT). Therefore monitoring of the coverage of this very cost-effective intervention is crucial for the monitoring of progress towards the child survival-related Sustainable Development Goals and related strategies.

Definition:

Percentage of children under 5 years of age with diarrhoea in the last two weeks receiving ORS (fluids made from ORS packets or pre-packaged ORS fluids).

Disaggregation:

Location (urban/rural), Education level : Maternal education, Wealth : Wealth quintile, Sex

Method of measurement

Mothers or caregivers of children under five years of age are asked if the child had diarrhorea at any time in the past 2 weeks, and if so, whether or not ORS was given. According to the DHS, the term(s) used for diarrhoea should encompass the expressions used for all forms of diarrhoea, including bloody stools (consistent with dysentery), watery stools, etc. The term encompasses the mother’s definition as well as locally-used term(s). A limitation of this measurement approach is that the severity of diarrhoea is not ascertained.

Method of estimation:

Data are taken from UNICEF database (see link below), which compiled data from household surveys such as Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS).

Method of estimation of global and regional aggregates:

population weighed average

Preferred data sources:

Household surveys

Unit of Measure:

N/A

Unit Multiplier:

Not Applicable

Expected frequency of data dissemination:

Annual

Expected frequency of data collection:

Every 3-5 years

Comments:

The framework for the discussion and review of child health indicators in the UNICEF/WHO Meeting on Child Survival Survey-based Indicators was the set of prevention and treatment interventions outlined in the Lancet series on child survival.

Contact person email:

lcarvajal@unicef.org

Name:

Liliana Carvajal

IMRID:

4736

Links:

Unicef data: diarrhoeal disease

Measuring Coverage in MNCH: Current Indicators for Measuring Coverage of Diarrhea Treatment Interventions and Opportunities for Improvement (Fischer Walker et al, PLOS Med, 2013)