Governments and decision-makers will have to change their perception — and understanding — of diarrhea if they want to address (and even end) one of the leading causes of death among children all over the world, according to Rotavirus Organization of Technical Allies chair Mathuram Santosham.
“Diarrhea is such a common disease that people often think it is not important and can easily be cured,” he told Devex. Diarrhea kills more than half a million children globally every year — second only to pneumonia — or about 9 percent of all deaths among children under 5, according to data from UNICEF.
A major barrier to controlling the condition is the lack of understanding among policymakers about the causes of diarrhea. Almost 40 percent of the child deaths per year caused by diarrhea — or about 200,000 lives — come from rotavirus. Despite this, only about 80 countries have programs to fight rotavirus, leaving almost 100 million children without access to care.