Inter-country technical consultation on improvement of diarrhoea management in the context of child survival and technical updates of the IMCI guidelines.

ABSTRACT

It is over seven years since IMCI has been introduced and much has been learnt through the adaptation and implementation processes in countries. The current technical updates have compiled the experience learnt and the new research findings. Research results are emerging with potential implications for updating the technical guidelines of IMCI. The technical updates are provided for use by countries whenever there are opportunities to revise the country IMCI adaptations. It will be necessary to have a series of technical updates as new research findings become available. The current technical updates have compiled new evidence to inform countries immediately about IMCI adaptations and recommend adaptations in six areas. Two recent advances in managing diarrhoeal disease – lower concentration oral rehydration salts (ORS) for prevention and treatment of dehydration, and zinc supplementation during and after the diarrhoea episode – can drastically reduce child morbidity and mortality. May 2004, WHO and UNICEF signed a joint statement that recommends use of the new low osmolarity ORS and zinc in management of diarrhoeal diseases. To accelerate the use of zinc and new low osmolarity ORS for effective treatment of diarrhoea WHO, UNICEF, USAID, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation set up a global Operational Team for zinc. This time the Operational Team for zinc and the WHO Regional Office for Europe organized a three-day workshop in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan for decision makers to overview the updates in management of diarrhoeal diseases.