“At any given time one-fifth of the children under five in Ghana has diarrhea,” said Vicki MacDonald, SHOPS child health advisor and head of the project’s diarrhea management program. “We are working with the Ghana Health Service to ensure availability of treatment products and expand awareness that zinc with ORS is the most effective and safe treatment.”

 

Forty percent of children receive no treatment or are treated at home, according to the national Demographic and Health Survey of Ghana 2008, This often leads to death when dehydration is not addressed. New diarrhea treatment protocols issued by WHO and UNICEF in 2004 recommend immediate treatment with ORS plus zinc. According to the 2008 survey, of those treated, only 2 percent were treated with zinc, which, when taken  with oral rehydration salts, can reduce the duration and severity of diarrhea cases and, if taken correctly for 10 days, can protect the child against diarrhea for up to three months.

 

SHOPS, led by Abt Associates, launched the mass media campaign with the Ghana Health Service in July 2012 targeting 8 million people. The campaign is increasing the awareness of caregivers about new national diarrhea treatment guidelines combining zinc and oral rehydration salts.

 

In a twist on dry TV ads featuring doctors, this spot uses animation to attract the viewers’ attention to important health care information. SHOPS collaborated with the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs’ Behavioral Change Support Project in Ghana to create the television advertisement(shown above.)