Children <5 years with diarrhoea receiving oral rehydration solution (ORS) and zinc supplement

What does this indicator tell us?

This indicator reflects the prevalence of children who were given zinc as part of treatment for acute diarrhoea. There are no readily available data on this indicator, which is maintained in the NLiS to encourage countries to collect and compile data on these aspects, in order to assess their national capacity.

How is it defined?

There is no internationally accepted indicator for zinc treatment of children with diarrhoea; however, this indicator could be defined as the percentage of children aged under 5 years with acute diarrhoea who were given supplements of 20 mg zinc daily for 10-14 days, or supplements of 10 mg/day for infants under 6 months.

What are the consequences and implications?

One of the measures used to prevent childhood diarrhoeal episodes is the promotion of zinc intake. Diarrhoeal diseases account for nearly 2 million deaths a year among children aged under 5, making such diseases the second most common cause of child death worldwide. Zinc supplementation improves the outcomes of diarrhoeal treatment.

Protective and preventive measures against acute diarrhoea recommended by WHO and UNICEF are exclusive breastfeeding, adequate complementary feeding and continued breastfeeding, vitamin A supplementation, improved hygiene, better access to clean sources of drinking-water and sanitation facilities, and vaccination against rotavirus. Zinc supplementation, oral rehydration therapy and continued feeding are among the recommended safe and effective methods of treating diarrhoea. Specifically, zinc supplements given during an episode of acute diarrhoea reduce the duration and severity of the episode, and giving zinc supplements for 10-14 days lowers the incidence of diarrhoea in the following 2-3 months.;

Source of data

UNICEF data: monitoring the situation of children and women. Diarrhoeal disease (https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-health/diarrhoeal-disease/ )

Further reading

WHO, UNICEF. Ending preventable child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea by 2025. The integrated Global Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD). Geneva: World Health Organization; 2013 (http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/documents/global_action_plan_pneumonia_diarrhoea/en/ ).

WHO. Global reference list of 100 core health indicators (plus health-related SDGs). Geneva: World Health Organization; 2018 (https://www.who.int/healthinfo/indicators/2018/en/).

Internet resources

WHO. e-Library of Evidence for Nutrition Actions (eLENA). Zinc supplementation in the management of diarrhoea.(http://www.who.int/elena/titles/zinc_diarrhoea/en/).