Slide 2
The problem of diarrhoea
Q. Is Suki's mother right to worry so much about his diarrhoea? Surely, if all
children have diarrhoea so often, then it is a normal part of
childhood?
A. Yes, she is right to worry about Suki. This slide shows the burial of a
neighbour's child that same week. The little girl died of diarrhoea. Suki might
also die.
Perhaps for some children diarrhoea is just part of childhood. But for others,
it is a serious problem, and for many, diarrhoea is the cause of death.
Possibly, out of every ten children born in tropical countries, one child dies
of diarrhoea.
This slide is from Indonesia, where the women do not go to burials. In other
countries the burial ceremony looks
different. But the sadness of the death is the same. Probably, every day,
somewhere in the world, between 14,000 and 55,000 sad families bury a child who
has died of diarrhoea. Most of these lives could have been saved if health
workers had taught the parents how to manage this condition.
