Diarrhea threatens Yemeni children [Archives:2008/1124/Health]

Alia Eshaq
For Yemen Times
SANA'A, Jan. 22 – A new report issued by the United Nations Children's Fund, known as UNICEF, indicates that diarrhea is responsible for the deaths of 84,000 children each year in Yemen.

Entitled, “Child Survival,” the international report was released Jan. 22 in Sana'a in the presence of Yemeni officials, including Health Minister Abdulkarim Rasa'.

Every year, 84,000 children under age 5 die in Yemen and one of the main causes is diarrhea, constituting nearly 17 percent of total mortality among children under 5, according to the latest UNICEF report.

Diarrhea, which many people consider a mild illness, is second only to pneumonia in cause of deaths among children. Diarrhea kills more children than malaria, measles and AIDS put together.

Yemen currently is ranked 41 out of 189 countries with the most deaths of children under age 5 and diarrhea is a large contributor to Yemen's high death rate for youngsters. “The number of children affected by diarrhea who come to me is uncountable,” says Dr. Ali Hassan, a physician at Al-Saba'een Hospital in Sana'a, who notes that diarrhea is widespread in Yemen, especially during the summer, due to dehydration.

Diarrhea becomes a serious disease when it causes severe and irreversible dehydration, thereby resulting in death. “Most deaths due to diarrhea occur before a child's first birthday,” Hassan points out.

He adds that the most severe cases he has seen are from rural areas where residents live in poor conditions far from proper health care. Such families are uninformed about the dangers of diarrhea and therefore, don't supply their children with enough fluids to replenish water loss.

“Diarrhea is widespread in Yemen due to water pollution, sanitation and dehydration,” states Nasim Al-Rahman, chief of communication and information for UNICEF-Yemen. He points out that many Yemenis are ignorant about the outcomes of this illness and the importance of replacing fluids during bouts of diarrhea.

“According to our research, we've found that the best way to fight this phenomenon [diarrhea] is breastfeeding children exclusively during their first six months,” Al-Rahman notes, meaning that mothers should only nourish their children via breastfeeding, without giving them any additional fluids – even water.

Agreeing with Al-Rahman, Hassan points out that in order to keep sick children safe, parents must give them fluids immediately and visit a doctor as soon as possible because although diarrhea is a major killer of children, it's also an easily-cured disease that's mostly preventable.
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