defeatDD

DefeatDD is kicking off 2025 with a new addition to our team. Please help us give a warm welcome to our new Communications Associate, Tara Petronio! [Holding for virtual applause.] You may have already met her indirectly: she’s jumped right in as t...

We get it. Things feel heavy right now. Heartbreaking conflict. Record-breaking heat. Economic hardship. In enduring these things, children suffer the most: according to UNICEF, diarrhea kills more children in conflict settings than violence. Climate...

Drug resistance is a major global health challenge, and it continues to worsen. A problem with many causes, rising drug resistance has placed an increasing burden on global health and children are among those shouldering the consequences. How th...

The summer monsoon season in Asia, known for heavy rainfall that often leads to flooding, has reached new heights in countries like India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. These floods contribute to the outbreak of diarrheal diseases. ...

The DefeatDD team celebrated a global health success story – more children than ever are reaching their fifth birthday!

Let’s further efforts to increase fair compensation and gender equity for health workers.

Rotavirus vaccines became available in 2006. How have they made an impact?

World Toilet Day is a global observation recognized annually. This year, our theme is “Don’t Stall” to promote urgency in addressing some of the most dire global health challenges.

At the 2nd Global Forum on Childhood Pneumonia, leaders renewed commitments to accelerate progress in child survival. Photo: Every Breath Counts.

The climate crisis is a health crisis, and one of its manifestations is its disruptive impact on safe drinking water and sanitation. Weather extremes like flooding stress sanitation systems and create increased opportunity for waterborne diseases suc...

In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) approved for global use vaccines against rotavirus, the most lethal cause of severe childhood diarrhea. Dr. George Armah was among the researchers who made it possible, starting his career in on rotavirus ...

“No diarrhea; more smiles.” “The answers are in the poop.” This and more poo-etic wisdom from our the VASE Conference attendees graced the open spaces between the poster presentations.

Vaccines, nutrition, and WASH reduce antibiotic overuse.

Meet Poo Guru! She is flush with facts about toilets, sanitation, and their vital role in global health. This World Toilet Day, as we celebrate all kinds of loos and latrines, the Poo Guru is our guide. She aims to raise awareness and investment in s...

The Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea outlines an integrated approach to simultaneously tackle these leading infectious killers of children.

Poor WASH is responsible for more than half of global diarrheal disease cases. As with COVID-19, the poorest communities are the hardest hit.

It costs pennies, and pediatricians call the results miraculous.

Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) and Shigella are leading bacterial causes of diarrhea. Experts have long suspected that they are responsible for a large proportion of the global diarrheal disease burden. However, morbidity and mortality estimates of E...

Earlier vaccination may be key to improving rotavirus vaccine efficacy in low-income country settings.

DefeatDD joins the Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) Alliance's podcast to discuss sanitation with Pipe Dreams author Chelsea Wald.

Pandemic disruptions pose an unprecedented challenge on rotavirus vaccination efforts in Africa, but countries are still making progress.

Climate change makes efforts to increase access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene more urgent than ever.

Vitamin A is a key player in diarrhea prevention and treatment - and in child health overall.

Pandemic disruptions in access to support have caused global breastfeeding rates to fall. More support is urgently needed to protect babies.

Only 7% of children who need diarrhea treatment get ORS and zinc. The co-pack could help.

On Friday, July 16, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its first updated rotavirus vaccine position paper since 2013. WHO’s position papers summarize all currently known research relevant to a vaccination against a certain pathogen ...

Meet three inspiring women working to strengthen women's and children's health, well-being, and education.

When women are in leadership, families, communities, and the planet benefit.

Repeated gut infections can have long-term impacts on a child's development. A modeling study sheds light on how these infections cause damage.

Our late colleague Alfred Ochola saved children's lives, inspired a new generation, and left a lasting impact on all who knew him.

Midwife Esther Alamia believes integrating antenatal services with routine immunization can help reach more mothers.

Young people are taking the lead on climate, and it’s time for adults to follow.

When Catherine named her son after a famous Zambian soccer star, she signified her high hopes for his future.

After her first son almost died of rotavirus, Teresa equipped herself with the knowledge and tools to ensure her second son would be protected.

Kids say the darnedest - and most inspiring - things.

Dr. Rubhana Raqib, one of a record number of women inducted into the World Academy of Science, share how she became a scientist and what advice she has for girls who want to follow in her footsteps.

Photo: Dr. Alaullah Shiekh, a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. James Fleckenstein’s lab at Washington University in St. Louis, is hard at work analyzing images of ETEC’s effects on the human gut.  

Even in this crazy year, we managed to make some progress against the deadliest form of childhood diarrhea.

Conducting an economic evaluation of a switch from ROTARIX to ROTAVAC allowed the Palestinian Ministry of Health to validate the payoff of its decision.

When one child dies of diarrhea, it reflects a collective failure. We can no longer go back to the status quo; we need universal health coverage now.

Existing tools - WASH, vaccines, and ORS+zinc - can help prevent and treat diarrhea infections with no need for antibiotics.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) were some of the original building blocks of primary healthcare.

A new laboratory diagnostic tool can help identify environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) in children.

A healthier generation tomorrow depends on raising strong girls today.

The tools to shield children from the worst of COVID-19’s indirect effects are tried-and-true tools of child health.

Addressing disparities in access to prevention and treatment for diarrheal disease among Black children in the United States deserves special attention.

As Nigeria plans to introduce rotavirus vaccination, inequities in vaccination coverage and burden of disease are projected to result in an inequitable impact of the vaccine.

We must not lose sight of the more than 100 prequalified vaccines that exist already against infectious diseases.

In 2006, rotavirus vaccine became the first-ever vaccine introduced in a low-income country and a wealthy country in the same year.

Maybe you’ve found yourself wondering: What exactly does WHO do?

We can’t address diarrhea, climate change, or COVID-19 without water.

We’re glad to see them get their “doo.”  

The future for children is not tomorrow. It is now.

Vaccines and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are both necessary for universal health coverage - and they work better together.

If the World Health Organization is a coach, the list of Essential Medicines includes its Most Valuable Players.

You won’t find it in the sports pages, but the World Health Organization (WHO) just made a game-changing decision in the field of diarrheal disease by adding co-packaged oral rehydration solution (ORS) and zinc to its Model List of Essential Medici...

Where there is conflict or unrest, children and families bear the brunt of the burden and fallout from infectious disease outbreaks like cholera and typhoid. Conflicts simply amplify the ongoing diarrheal disease crisis that affects children ever...

Parents often worry about diarrhea treatment costs and are largely unaware about the benefits of zinc.

We're backing a new petition to improve access to ORS and zinc.

Our event partner, NJI Media, filled the technicolor toilet-shaped void in our hearts that we didn’t know we had.   Silliness and substance: these are our twin priorities at DefeatDD. Breaking the poo taboo requires some creative resourcefulness...

Dr. Mark Manary, one of the world’s foremost experts in childhood malnutrition, screens children in Chikweo, Malawi. Photo: Carol Lin.  

After the rain stops and the floodwaters recede, another threat looms.

Diarrhea is a medical and economic crisis for vulnerable families.

It was an idea years in the making.

Dennis Malambo is Kabulanga Branch Manager for Lusaka Water and Sewerage. Zambia’s capital city, Lusaka, is growing rapidly and it is not slowing down. The country’s population is projected to increase exponentially by the end of the century –...

One woman’s stand against diarrheal disease