Bulletin of the World Health Organization
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Bull. World Health Organ. · Jan 2000
Reducing deaths from diarrhoea through oral rehydration therapy.
In 1980, diarrhoea was the leading cause of child mortality, accounting for 4.6 million deaths annually. Efforts to control diarrhoea over the past decade have been based on multiple, potentially powerful interventions implemented more or less simultaneously. Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) was introduced in 1979 and rapidly became the cornerstone of programmes for the control of diarrhoeal diseases. ⋯ Standard indicators and measurement methods should be established. Efforts to change existing global indicators should be firmly resisted. Support should be given for the continuing evaluation and documentation activities needed to guide future public health policies and programmes.