Local hero: ORS production takes offAlmost half the countries responding to a recent survey have increased local production of oral rehydration salts (ORS), the lifesaving therapy for children threatened by diarrhoeal dehydration. A UNICEF survey of 65 countries has uncovered a welcome trend towards sustainability. Local production is increasing, and the share of ORS purchased by health ministries has risen by about 20% since 1994, another optimistic sign that oral rehydration therapy is becoming entrenched.Bangladesh, Brazil, India and Nigeria -- home to more than 160 million children under 5 -- are among the 32 countries and territories reporting an increase in production in recent years. Two countries, Cuba and Mexico, are now producing enough ORS to export it to other countries. Among the 19 countries reporting no increase, several already produce adequate supplies of ORS for their needs. In 1996, health ministries paid for more than half of the ORS used in 21 countries, up from 16 in 1994. UNICEF offices in 20 countries reported no local production of ORS. While importing ORS may be more cost-effective for smaller countries, such as Swaziland, countries like Burundi, Cambodia and Iraq, where local production capacity has collapsed as a result of instability and war, raise concerns. Diarrhoeal dehydration remains one of the world's great child killers, claiming over 2 million children under the age of 5 each year in developing countries. Up to 90% of these deaths could be prevented by replacing lost body fluids with ORS -- a precise mix of salts, glucose and safe water -- or with other recommended fluids. A sachet of ORS is economical, costing about 8 cents.
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