A project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Diarrhoea remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries, killing nearly 2 million children every year. Research has shown that zinc provides a very effective treatment for diarrhoea among children under five years of age. Zinc treatment reduces the severity and duration of diarrhoea as well as the likelihood of future episodes of diarrhoea and the need for hospitalisation. Zinc treatment can save a child’s life, both as a treatment for diarrhoeal illness and by preventing future infectious illnesses.
In addition, early studies suggest zinc treatment may have a positive impact on childhood pneumonia, which is the leading cause of death among under-five children living in developing nations. Therefore, zinc treatment holds tremendous potential as a global public health intervention and can play a significant role in attaining the Millennium Development Goal #4 of a two-thirds reduction in under-five mortality by 2015.
This is why ICDDR,B and its partners are engaged in this innovative project.
The SUZY project has been, for the first time, providing zinc treatment for diarrhoea on a large scale, targeting the entire under-five-year-old population of Bangladesh. It has been estimated that zinc treatment could save the lives of 30,000 to 75,000 children per year in Bangladesh alone. On a global scale, the addition of zinc treatment to the management of childhood diarrhea could save the lives of almost 400,000 children each year (Ref. 1).
Why treatment?
Zinc is a micronutrient found in foods rich in protein such as red meat, poultry, nuts and dairy products and is essential for human growth and protection against illness and disease. Many people living in developing nations, such as Bangladesh, do not have access to sufficient amounts of zinc-rich foods. This results in zinc deficiency that can lead to growth failure and increased susceptibility to illness and death, especially among young children.
In an ideal world, diets would contain adequate quantities of zinc and micronutrients. This remains an important goal to attain, but in the short term supplementation strategies are needed. Zinc treatment of a diarrhoeal illness would appear to be the most feasible strategy at this point in time. Millions of families are simply too poor to provide a healthy diet. Many are too poor to buy any food. We are focusing on children under five because they are the most vulnerable and this is where the best evidence of benefit exists.
Studies conducted at the Centre, from basic to applied research, have helped to build an evidence base for integrating zinc treatment into current child health practice and policies. This is supported by the revised, joint WHO/UNICEF recommendations to include zinc in the management of all acute or persistent cases of diarrhoea in children under five years of age.
For more information on the body of research on zinc, click here.
For more information on the scaling-up process, click here.
For more information on our partners, click here.
For further project information please contact: Tracey@icddrb.org
(Ref 1): Jones G, Sketetee RW, Black RE, Bhutta ZA, Morris SS, and Bellagio Child Survival Study Group. How many child deaths can we prevent this year? Lancet 2003; 362:65-71.
