Diaree

Global Handwashing Day, October 15, 2008. A brilliant idea being implemented by the right organization, the United Nations. With diseases flourishing and spreading at a rampant pace throughout the developing world this initiative comes at a most critical moment.
In the U.S. and other ‘developed’ nations diarrhea is something we treat with over the counter (OTC) medications and very rarely seek medical attention – the problem just goes away and one returns to ‘regularity.’ Well, this is not the case in the third-world, where diarrhea is a real threat – it’s a fatal disease; in fact, it is the second most common cause of death for children under the age of five. Globally, about 2 million child deaths (children under five) occur every year. (UNICEF)

Handwashing alone, “at critical times“, can reduce diarrheal diseases by over 40% and respiratory infections by 30%. Governments of lesser developed countries should be focusing on these simple methods of disease prevention. Considering that access to resources is extremely limited in such nations it is still very possible to educate the public in an efficient, effective, and affordable manner. Printing up loads of informational pamphlets and creating micro-websites are great ideas – but people at the bottom of the pyramid have terribly low literacy rates and access to technology is just about non-existent.