| Definition | The number of children under 5 years with diarrhoea per 1 000 population under 5 years per year.
DEFINITION: The number of children with diarrhoea per 1 000 children in the target population. Diarrhoea is formally defined as 3 or more watery stools in 24 hours, but any episode diagnosed and/or treated as diarrhoea after an interview with the adult accompanying the child should be counted.
USE: To determine the health status of children and identify potential environmental hazards (e.g. contamination of water sources).
COMMENTS: It is assumed that health personnel, through interviewing the person accompanying the child, confirm that the problem most likely is diarrhoea and not just a temporary running stomach due to e.g. intake of certain drinks/foodstuffs.
Diarrhoeal disease is one of the leading causes of infant mortality, and is closely related to both socio-economic situation and environmental health issues like access to clean water. |
Health Statistics
