Nursery World - Back to basics

Millions of children in poor countries are dying from preventable illnesses. Anne Wiltsher looks at what we could be doing about it. Jogindar died in India when she was two weeks old. She had persistent diarrhoea that caused her to become dehydrated. If someone had given her mother simple advice to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of her baby's life and not to risk giving her water that might be contaminated, then Jogindar might have been saved.

Jogindar died in India when she was two weeks old. She had persistent diarrhoea that caused her to become dehydrated. If someone had given her mother simple advice to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of her baby's life and not to risk giving her water that might be contaminated, then Jogindar might have been saved.

Fahad, from Pakistan, aged four, died from malaria after an infected mosquito bite. If someone had given his family mosquito nets dipped in insecticide for the children to sleep under, Fahad might have been saved.

These are only examples of scenarios that are far too real. According to public health specialists writing in a new Child Survival series in the medical journal The Lancet, six million children under the age of five die because simple preventive measures and medical treatments are not delivered to them. In other words, we have the medical know-how, we just don't have the political will to deliver it. As one of the series co-ordinators, Cesar Victora from the University of Pelotas in Brazil, said recently at the launch press conference, 'We have the magic bullets but not the magic guns.'

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included