Saving lives like Abdul's - prevention is better than cure
Sierra Leone, May 2011. Aged just two years old, Abdul Kamara’s life was threatened by severe diarrhoea, but he's just received rehydration treatment, and is begining to recover.
The leading cause of severe infant diarrhoea is a common virus – rotavirus. Nearly every child in the world will have at least one rotavirus infection before reaching the age of three.
Death from rotavirus is extremely rare in developed countries. More than 85% of child diarrhoeal deaths occur in Africa and Asia, where access to clean drinking water is limited and immune systems are weakened by malnourishment, or diseases such as malaria.
Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world. Although real progress has been made since the civil war ended ten years ago, poverty is high and healthcare is basic. These factors come together with deadly results for young children.
Rotavirus vaccines were introduced in Sierra Leone at the start of 2011 with the support of the GAVI Alliance and UK aid.
To find out more, please see the full story at: www.dfid.gov.uk/Media-Room/Features/2011/One-simple-jab-m...
Image © Doune Porter / GAVI