IRIN - Kenya has set its sights on halving the prevalence of infant diarrhoeal disease – which kills dozens of children daily – within five years, using new treatments and by boosting preventive measures.

Every Kenyan child under five has an average of three episodes of diarrhoea annually, according to the 2008 Demographic and Health Survey.

“With 86 children dying every day, diarrhoea is the third leading cause of death among under-fives in Kenya. It is unacceptable, but we can stop this!” said Beth Mugo, Minister for Public Health and Sanitation, at the 31 March launch in Nairobi of national policy guidelines.

The new guidelines, she said, complemented the government’s Child Survival and Development Strategy with a package of interventions based on using a new type of oral rehydration salts (ORS) containing lower concentrations of glucose and salt; zinc supplements to reduce the frequency of episodes; selective use of antibiotics; and encouraging prevention through breastfeeding.

“With exclusive breast feeding, vitamin A supplementation, strengthened routine childhood immunization, proper hygiene and access to improved water supplies, we can curb the number of deaths,”said David Okello, country representative of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Read more – http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=88651

(IRIN) – A measles outbreak has hit 28 of Zimbabwe’s 62 districts and is still spreading, but efforts to vaccinate people in some quarters is being hampered by religious convictions.

According to the latest World health Organisation (WHO) Epidemiological Bulletin, “Nearly 1,200 suspected cases were reported since the start of the outbreak in October 2009 … 221 cases have been confirmed … 50 community deaths have been reported.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as well as other organizations in the health sector have embarked on an intensive vaccination programme. “The campaign is targeting all children between the ages of six months and 14 years,” UNICEF’s Zimbabwe spokesperson, Micaela Marques de Sousa, told IRIN. In eastern Zimbabwe, in the Buhera district of Manicaland Province alone, more than 25,000 children had been vaccinated against measles.

Read more – http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=88199

IRIN – The cause of a measles outbreak sweeping South Africa has not as yet been determined, but initial suspicions point to religious objections and unfounded fears that immunizations against the disease increase the risk of autism in children.

The National Institute of Communicable Disease (NICD) said last week that the Western Cape had recorded the highest number of new measles cases, 82, bringing the total in the province to 447, although Gauteng Province remained worst affected, with 4,359 cases since the outbreak began almost a year ago. In other provinces KwaZulu-Natal recorded 631 cases, North West 563, and Eastern Cape 314.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes measles as a highly contagious viral disease affecting mostly children, and that it can be effectively prevented by immunization.

Read more – http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=88090

IPS – Tanzania’s electricity grid is fed by a mixture of natural gas, diesel and hydropower; however, over the past few years the country has experienced severe blackouts and power rationing in urban areas due to drought and subsequent low-water levels.

After seeing springs and rivers in his native Kilimanjaro region dry up, Estomih Sawe wanted to provide energy alternatives for Tanzanians.

Read more – http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49876

IPS – Just three percent of malaria-infected children in Africa get World Health Organisation-recommended drugs. One expert has equated this to a death sentence for sick children.

Nine hundred thousand people die worldwide every year as a result of malaria, 90 percent of them in Africa.

A survey done by Population Services International (PSI) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine reveals that only three percent of children access effective malaria treatment within 24 hours.

Speaking to IPS at the Fifth Multilateral Initiative on Malaria Pan-African Malaria Conference, Dr Desmond Chavasse, vice president malaria control and child survival at PSI (a global health organisation with programmes targeting malaria, child survival, HIV and reproductive health), equates the lack of access to effective malaria drugs to being tantamount to a death sentence for African children who are under five.

Read more – http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49154

IPS – After 20 years of trials, scientists have announced they are on the threshold of discovering a malaria vaccine. Researchers warn that Africa may not be ready to make use of the vaccine should it be approved as expected within five years.

The World Health Organisation estimates there were 247 million cases of malaria in 2006, causing nearly one million deaths, mostly among African children.

Read more – http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49137

Despite the existence of inexpensive and efficient means of treatment, diarrhoea kills more children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined, according to a report issued today by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The report, titled Diarrhoea: Why Children Are Still Dying and What Can Be Done, includes information on the causes of diarrhoea, data on access to means of prevention and treatment, and a seven-point plan to reduce diarrhoea deaths. 

 “It is a tragedy that diarrhoea, which is little more than an inconvenience in the developed world, kills an estimated 1.5 million children each year,” said UNICEF Executive Director, Ann M. Veneman. “Inexpensive and effective treatments for diarrhoea exist, but in developing countries only 39 per cent of children with diarrhoea receive the recommended treatment.”

Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, said: “We know where children are dying of diarrhoea. We know what must be done to prevent those deaths. We must work with governments and partners to put this seven-point plan into action.”

Read more – http://www.unicef.org/media/media_51407.html