Zinc Alliance for Child Health Funds $1.5 Million Project to Save Children's Lives in India

AHMEDABAD: Canadian partners in the Zinc Alliance for Child Health (ZACH) - Teck, the Micronutrient Initiative (MI) and the government of Canada - announced $1.5 million in funding to expand a childhood diarrhea treatment program in the Indian state of Gujarat.

This funding will support the State Government to scale up the program to all 26 districts in Gujarat and train an additional 97,000 health care workers on the proper treatment of diarrhea using zinc and oral rehydration salts (ORS).

No life-threatening childhood illness affects more children than diarrheal disease. In India, approximately 230,000 children die annually as a result of dehydration, weakened immunity or malnutrition associated with diarrhea.

Using zinc, along with ORS, to treat diarrhea not only strengthens the immune system to accelerate recovery, but can save lives.

"The ZACH partnership is committed to reducing child mortality by accelerating the use of zinc supplements and ORS to treat diarrhea, one of the most common killers of children in India," said M G Venkatesh Mannar, president of the Micronutrient Initiative.

"We are pleased to support Gujarat's Diarrhea Alleviation through Zinc and ORS Therapy (DATZ) project that aims to improve the chances of survival for their children."

The DATZ project currently operates in six districts of Gujarat and has already reached 270,000 children. ZACH, a public-private-civil society alliance, will provide funding for an additional 20 districts, reaching 670,000 children by March of 2016. The project builds on the success of ZACH's current zinc projects in Africa that have helped treat over five million children since its launch in 2011.

MI's efforts in Gujarat focus on training and supervising health workers and caregivers, as well as supporting the development of social marketing materials to increase awareness of zinc and ORS as an effective diarrhea treatment.

ZACH funding will also support the development of supportive supervision of front-line health workers. This includes personalized one-on-one exercises that reinforce skills development through meetings, joint field visits, reviews and refresher training.