Resource Library

Saathi Bachpan Ke- Promoting Diarrhea Management Through the Private Sector in Urban North India

The diarrhea management campaign was initiated by ICICI Bank in 2002 under the bilateral Program for Advancement of Commercial Technology - Child and Reproductive Health (PACT-CRH) between the Government of India (GOI) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This campaign evolved significantly during its lifetime. Initially it focused on promoting the use of WHO formulation Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS). In 2005, after supporting policy advocacy for a shift to a new formulation, the program helped smoothly transition the market to the reduced osmolarity ORS. From 2006 the campaign expanded into the Saathi Bachpan ke (Friends of Childhood) Complete Home Diarrhea Management (CHDM) campaign, and finally in 2007 the program designed and piloted communication and promotion strategies and prototypes that could be adopted by Govt. of India and private sector partners and others, for the introduction of Zinc therapy.