Researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar have published a global study in the medical journal eBioMedicine, part of The Lancet, providing important and unprecedented insights into childhood diarrhea, one of the leading causes of child mortality in the world.
Diarrhea remains a global health challenge, as it is the third leading cause of child mortality in the world, causing the death of about 445,000 children under the age of five annually. Low- and middle-income countries bear the greatest burden compared to the rest of the world, recording 90% of these deaths. In addition to its direct effects, diarrhea stunts children’s growth and cognitive development, exacerbates malnutrition, and burdens families, health care systems and countries’ economies.
After carefully analyzing a total of 593 national population-based surveys, conducted between 1985 and 2024 in 129 countries, the study found that the prevalence of childhood diarrhea has more than halved over the past four decades – from 22.3% in the 1980s to 10.9% in recent years – declining at a rate of 1% per year. In addition, the prevalence rate decreased in all major regions of the world except for one region that did not record a decrease in childhood diarrhea, according to a statement issued by Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Al Jazeera, Seha, on Wednesday.
This significant progress reflects the combined impact of public health interventions, including rotavirus vaccination, the use of oral fluid and electrolyte replacement solutions, breastfeeding promotion, and vitamin A supplementation, as well as broader improvements in social and economic conditions in many countries of the world.
But the study also revealed stark regional disparities. The African region bore the greatest burden, recording the highest prevalence of childhood diarrhea, while the European region recorded the lowest prevalence and the greatest decline at the same time. On the other hand, the Eastern Mediterranean Region differs from the prevailing global success story, as childhood diarrhea continues to burden the countries of the Region without any significant decline over the past four decades.
After studying the determinants of childhood diarrhea globally, researchers developed a new indicator called “Socioeconomic Status and Child Nutrition” to make it easier to track progress closely related to the decline in prevalence. The index showed that the countries with the highest levels of maternal education, the best child nutrition, safe drinking water, and necessary sanitation facilities had the lowest levels of child diarrhea, which confirms that child diarrhea does not only represent a health problem, but is also an indicator of the general state of social and economic development.
Researcher Zuhair Taj, first author of the study and a research specialist in the Infectious Disease Epidemiology Group at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, said: “The results of our study reveal a global health success story. Millions of children today are healthier than they were four decades ago. In contrast, the continued high prevalence of childhood diarrhea in marginalized areas shows that progress has not been equal across regions of the world. “To end preventable child deaths, we need not only proven health measures, but also sustained investments in clean water, sanitation, education and food security, as well as stronger responses to the conflict-related emergencies that continue to disproportionately affect our region.”
In the same context, Dr. Laith Abu Raddad, lead author of the study and professor of population health sciences in the Infectious Disease Epidemiology Group at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, said: “Childhood diarrhea represents both a health challenge and an indicator of inequality. It is declining where societies are advancing, and it continues to claim the lives of young people where life systems are faltering or disrupted by conflict. We are facing a public health issue as much as What is a challenge that hinders development? “The battle to eradicate childhood diarrhea is not over yet.”
The study, entitled “The Global Prevalence and Determinants of Childhood Diarrhea: A Meta-Methodological Evaluation, 1985-2024,” was completed with funding from the Biomedical Research Training Program and the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Biomathematics Laboratory at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar.