Children <5 years with diarrhoea receiving oral rehydration therapy (ORT) and continued feeding 

What does this indicator tell us?

This indicator is the prevalence of children with diarrhoea who receive oral rehydration therapy and continued feeding. The percentage of children aged under 5 years with diarrhoea receiving oral rehydration therapy (ORT) and continued feeding during illness is included as an additional indicator in the Global reference list of 100 core health indicators.

How is it defined?

This is the proportion of children aged 0-59 months who had diarrhoea in the previous 2 weeks and who received ORT (oral rehydration salts, recommended home fluids or increased fluids) and continued feeding. Diarrhoea is defined as the passage of three or more loose or liquid stools per day.

What are the consequences and implications?

Diarrhoeal diseases remain one of the major causes of mortality among children aged under 5 years, accounting for 9% of deaths among children worldwide. Most of the deaths in children from diarrhoea could be averted by using ORS and zinc supplementation during episodes of diarrhoea, and basic interventions to improve drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). It is estimated that ORS alone can prevent 93% of deaths due to diarrhoea, and zinc supplementation can decrease deaths from diarrhoea by 23%.

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. Diarrhoeal disease. Fact sheet. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2017 (http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diarrhoeal-disease).

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. Maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health. Documents on diarrhoea ( http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/documents/diarrhoea/en/ ).