Water & Sanitation Min to support IDCF

With around 1.4 lakh children succumbing to diarrhoea annually due to poor sanitation in the country, Union Water and Sanitation Ministry on Friday came out to actively support the Health Ministry’s fornightly awareness campaign ‘Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight’ (IDCF) to be kicked off from July 27 with the aim of zero child deaths due to the disease.

The Water and Sanitation Ministry, which has been entrusted to implement Swachchh Bharat Mission to ban open defecation, pitched in noting that since it has a major role in providing safe drinking water and sanitation facilities in rural areas, ensuring adequate preventive steps can help cut down diarrhoea among rural children.

Asking the coordinator of the Swachchh Bharat Mission (Gramin) in the States to chip in the diarrhoea control programme, the Centre said that the disease can be prevented with provision of safe drinking water, proper hand washing, sanitation facilities, immunisation and breast feeding. “Since our Ministry plays a major role in providing safe drinking water and sanitation facilities in rural areas, we have to play a key role in reduction of diarrhoea among rural children,” Joint Secretary (SBM-G) Sarswati Prasad said, emphasizing that the state departments can spread messages on usage of clean water after safe handling, mother should wash hands with soap after preparation of food, breastfeeding the child and after cleaning stool of child.” 

Sharing the details of the fortnight campaign, Additional Secretary (Health) CK Mishra said the IDCF will focus on improving awareness on use of ORS and zinc in childhood diarrhoea and promotion of optimal infant and breast-feeding practices in order to achieve the ultimate goal of zero childhood diarrhoea deaths.He also said the Government has plans to include Rotavirus vaccine in its Universal Immunisation Programme by the end of the year in some select states.