Diarrhoea is one of the biggest killer diseases of Africa. People with diarrhoea lose a lot of body fluids. Dehydration occurs easily, especially in children with diarrhoea. It is very important to prevent dehydration or to rehydrate children who are seriously dehydrated. Diarrhoea and malnutrition often go hand in hand. Children with malnutrition are weak and cannot fight infection very well. This means they frequently get a lot of diarrhoea. Children with diarrhoea feel weak and do not eat much food. As a result, their level of malnutririon increases even further. 

The following factors promote diarrhoeal disease:

• poor water quality and poor water supplies
  
• poor sanitation
  
• malnutrition
  
• bottle-feeding infants in unhygienic conditions
  
• poor education and personal hygiene

 The following factors help to prevent diarrhoea:

• improved water and sanitation services
  
• breast-feeding and improved food supplies
  
• health education and information
  
• improved personal hygiene

Depending on the severity of the dehydration, the child can be given an easy home-made oral(through the mouth) hydration fluid or may need medical attention. The recipe is as follows: 1 cup water + 2 teaspoons sugar + 2 pinches of salt.