•  The Hailakandi health authorities are gearing up to launch Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF) programme targeting children below five years of age.Under the programme, to be launched on May 28 and to be continued till June 9, ASHA workers will distribute Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) packets in each household which has children aged below five. Nearly 85,868 children under five years of age will be covered during the fortnight-long campaign across the district to raise awareness about diarrhoea.
• It plans to hold intensified community awareness campaigns on hygiene and promotion of ORS and zinc at community, facility and village levels.
• The programme was aimed at preventing diarrhoeal deaths, as it is one of the commonest causes of deaths among children. Almost all the deaths due to diarrhoea can be averted by preventing and treating dehydration by use of ORS, administration of zinc tablets along with adequate nutritional intake by the child. Diarrhoea can be prevented with safe drinking water, sanitation, breastfeeding, appropriate nutrition and hand-washing.
• Diarrhoea claims the lives of an estimated 1.1 lakh children in India every year. However, the country has made impressive gains in child survival over the past two decades registering consistent decline in IMR and Under-Five Mortality Rates (U5MR). Increased access to immunisation and child health care services during this period have greatly contributed to this decline.

Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF)

• Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF) consists of a set of activities to be implemented in an intensified manner for prevention and control of deaths due to dehydration from diarrhoea across all States & UTs.
• These activities mainly include- intensification of advocacy & awareness generation activities for diarrhoea management, strengthening service provision for diarrhoea case management, establishment of ORS-Zinc corners, prepositioning of ORS by ASHA in households with under-five children and awareness generation activities for hygiene and sanitation.

Goal of IDCF
            The goal of IDCF is to attain zero child deaths due to childhood diarrhoea.

Strategy for the IDCF
            The focus of IDCF is on delivery of simple proven interventions that have large impact towards control of childhood diarrhoeal morbidity and mortality. The IDCF strategy is          three folds, as below:

• Improved availability and use of ORS and Zinc at the community
• Facility level strengthening to manage cases of dehydration
• Enhanced advocacy and communication on prevention and control of diarrhoea through IEC campaign.
  

Activities:

•  At community / village level
• Distribution of ORS and demonstration
• IPC activities by ANM on hygiene and sanitation along with management of diarrhoea
• Hand washing demonstration in schools
• Mobile health teams for urban areas
  

At health facility level

• Establishment of ORS and Zinc corners for treatment of diarrhoea
• Promote standard case management of diarrhoeal cases
• Cleaning of water tanks in health facilities