The Department of Health, Medical and Family Welfare will launch the distribution of zinc tablets and Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) packets to children below five years of age across the State under the ‘Stop Diarrhoea’ campaign, Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav said on Monday.

In a statement, the Minister said the distribution of two ORS packets and 14 zinc tablets free of cost to 37,53,850 identified children would commence on June 16. The programme is being implemented in coordination with the departments of Women and Child Welfare, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Education, and the Jal Jeevan Mission, in line with the guidelines of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The campaign, which will continue till July 31, will also focus on creating awareness about the importance of breastfeeding, hand hygiene, safe drinking water and consumption of hygienic food.

Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) have been entrusted with distributing the tablets and ORS packets to households and Anganwadi centres. The department has stocked 95.37 lakh ORS packets and 5.25 crore zinc tablets at government health facilities for the programme.

Quoting a World Health Organisation (WHO) report, Mr. Yadav said diarrhoea is the fifth leading cause of death among children under five years of age in India. He noted that, according to the National Family Health Survey-6 (NFHS-6), the prevalence of diarrhoea among children in this age group had declined to 4.8% from 7.2% recorded in NFHS-5.

The Minister attributed the decline to sustained awareness campaigns, improved sanitation measures and the provision of safe drinking water facilities at the village level.