Resource Library

Assuring Access to Pediatric Zinc for Diarrhea Treatment Through the Private Sector in Madagascar Results and Lessons Learned

Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world and ranks 145th out of 182 countries on the 2009 Human Development Index. Its total population is estimated at 20.6 million. 1 Data from the Madagascar Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) 2008-09 (National Statistical Institute et al. 2010) indicate that the diarrhea prevalence rate for children under five as of 2009 was 8 percent (ranging from 18 percent in the Boeny region to 2 percent in the Vakinankaratra region). In 2008, 22 percent of child deaths were caused by diarrhea-related illness, 2 and diarrhea was the second leading cause for consultation athealth centers (Ministry of Health and Family Planning 2008).

1 The World Factbook, CIA, 2010 estimate. https://www.cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ma.html

2 World Health Organization/Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group, Countdown to 2015 Maternal, Newborn & Child Survival. http://www.countdown2015mnch.org/reportspublications/ 2010-country-profiles.