Oral Rehydration Therapy

When a child is too dehydrated to cry, the solution can be very simple.

The last thing we want to see is a child in tears. But when diarrhoeal dehydration threatens to drain the last drop of life from a baby, tears are a very welcome sign.

Every year almost 2 million children die, needlessly, from diarrhoeal dehydration.

Once the disease takes hold, children can deteriorate rapidly as water is lost from their bodies. Their skin quickly loses its elasticity and their eyes are literally drained of life. And yet a simple course of Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) is often all that’s needed – five small sachets of sugar and mineral salts mixed with water, at a cost of just seven cents each.

ORT helps save over 2,700 young lives every day.

UNICEF has been working hard to increase the use of ORT for more than 20 years. During this time, we’ve managed to reach millions of children. But diarrhoeal dehydration is still a grave threat to children in the developing world. Especially in remote and war-torn regions where even the most basic medical supplies are non-existent.

We urgently need to reach more communities and families with ORS (Oral Rehydration Salts). We also need to inform and educate them about the risks of diarrhoeal disease and how to prevent it. We need your help to achieve this.

While ORT saves 2,700 young lives every day, a further 5,000 children will still die of diarrhoeal dehydration in the next 24 hours.

No parent should have to suffer the anguish of losing the child they love when such a simple, life-saving solution is available. A donation of just $75 could help us provide enough ORS to help save the lives of more than 200 children.Few other medical breakthroughs of the 20th century have ORT’s potential to save so many lives, so quickly and at so little cost.

Click here to make a donation.

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