Scaling Up Zinc and ORS Treatment for Childhood Diarrhea
CURRENT PROJECT
The Communication for Change (C-Change) Indonesia project is a one-year follow-on to the USAID-funded Point-Of-Use Water Disinfection and Zinc Treatment Project (POUZN). The project creates public-private partnerships to reduce one of the leading causes of illness and death among children worldwide—diarrhea—by introducing zinc treatment along with ORT for childhood diarrhea.
Zinc is depleted in the body during an episode of diarrhea. Zinc therapy given for 10 to 14 days during and after diarrhea has been shown to reduce the duration and severity of diarrhea episodes and prevents diarrhea recurrence. Zinc intake reinforces the body's defense mechanism and allows it to fend off the cause of diarrhea.
The project aims to ensure that the new diarrhea treatment for children under five years of age using ORS and zinc is sustainable and at scale throughout Indonesia.
Strategy
C-Change will continue to act as a catalyst to bring key stakeholders in the private and public sectors together around a common strategic approach with its priority audiences/targets.
To complement the policy and PPP achievements of the POUZN project, the C-Change Indonesia project is applying the SBCC approach, focusing on health providers at the bottom of the cascade of influence and, later on, on caregivers.
POUZN Public Private Partnership Approach
With POUZN's advocacy efforts, the Ministry of Health (MoH) integrated zinc treatment in the national policy guidelines for the treatment of diarrhea. MOH Indonesia launched LINTAS DIARE (lima langkah tuntaskan diare) or Five Steps to Treat Diarrhea in 2008. C-Change Indonesia is intensifying the existing collaboration with the Ministry of Health, pharmaceutical companies producing and marketing zinc, professional organizations, such as the Indonesian Pediatrics Association (IDAI), the Indonesia Doctors Association, and the Indonesian Midwives Association, civil society, and development partners (WHO, UNICEF) to increase the awareness and use of ORS and zinc for the treatment of childhood diarrhea.
Social and Behavior Change Communication
Key opinion leaders and pediatricians are reasonably convinced of the zinc treatment approach, but other health providers, such as general practitioners and midwives (in both the private and public sectors) also need to be convinced of the new treatment. By applying SBCC primarily to these groups of health providers, C-Change is improving zinc treatment uptake and preparing the ground for a mass communication campaign.
News, Publications, and Results
Publications
Contacts
| Camille Saadé Project Director 1825 Connecticut Avenue NW Washington, DC 20009 +1 (202) 884-8959 csaade@fhi360.org |
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Dewi Utari Country Director dutari@fhi360.org |