What it is
Diarrhoeal disease in children under five is usually treated by replacing the fluids and salts lost during an episode. Oral rehydration salts, given with zinc and with continued feeding, address the dehydration that causes most diarrhoea deaths. Coverage measures whether children who had diarrhoea received that treatment.
Why it matters
What diarrhoea treatment can provide
- 01Dehydration is what killsMost diarrhoea deaths result from fluid loss rather than from the infection itself, which is why replacing fluids addresses the immediate threat to life.
- 02The treatment is simple and cheapOral rehydration salts need no injection, no refrigeration and no clinician to administer. Diarrhoea nonetheless accounted for around 9 per cent of all deaths among children under five in 2021.
- 03Zinc shortens and reduces episodesZinc given alongside oral rehydration reduces the duration and severity of an episode, and the likelihood of further episodes in the months that follow.
- 04Continued feeding supports recoveryContinuing to feed a child during an episode aids recovery. Withholding food, which is still practised in some settings, works against it.
Where we are
Care is sought for most children; about one in five receives oral rehydration salts with zinc
Advice or treatment is sought for about 58 per cent of children under five with diarrhoea. Around 44 per cent receive oral rehydration salts, and about 22 per cent receive both oral rehydration salts and zinc — the combination that is recommended.
Coverage of oral rehydration salts has risen slowly, from 37.4 per cent in the period around 2008 to 44.2 per cent in the most recent period — an increase of about seven percentage points across the three pooled comparison periods.
Three indicators of diarrhoea care, ordered by how complete a response each represents. Select one to see coverage and how it compares with the previous indicator.
44.2%coverage
14.2 percentage points lower than advice or treatment sought
MNCH global aggregates, February 2026
These are separate coverage estimates among children who had diarrhoea in the two weeks preceding a survey, not stages of one pathway — a child may receive oral rehydration salts at home without advice or treatment being sought. Differences are shown in percentage points between estimates, and should not be read as individual children dropping out.
Change over time
Change over time
Children under five with diarrhoea who received oral rehydration salts, globally. Points are pooled multi-year periods rather than annual observations.
What is measured
Coverage is measured among children who recently had diarrhoea
These indicators are measured among children under five who had diarrhoea in the two weeks preceding a household survey, as reported by a caregiver. They are not measured against all children, so the denominator differs from one survey to the next depending on how much diarrhoea there was.
- Diarrhoea treatment with oral rehydration salts
- The percentage of children under age five who had diarrhoea in the two weeks preceding the survey and who received oral rehydration salts — ORS packets or pre-packaged ORS fluids.
- Oral rehydration therapy with continued feeding
- The percentage of children under age five who had diarrhoea in the two weeks preceding the survey and who received oral rehydration therapy — oral rehydration salts, recommended home-made fluids or increased fluids — and continued feeding.
Read these figures with care
- Diarrhoea is reported by a caregiver rather than clinically confirmed, and recall across two weeks is imperfect.
- Coverage records that treatment was received, not whether it was prepared correctly or given for long enough.
- Diarrhoea incidence is seasonal, so surveys fielded at different times of year are not directly comparable.
Where to get the data
Where to find the data
References
- UNICEF and WHO, Ending Preventable Child Deaths from Pneumonia and Diarrhoea by 2025: The integrated Global Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhoea.
- UNICEF, One is Too Many: Ending child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea.
- UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, Levels and Trends in Child Mortality.
Related topics
Copy last reviewed July 2026.