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ORT Corners in Kenya

September 1, 2010
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A person wearing an orange shirt is sitting on a bed, holding and feeding a child wrapped in a colorful blanket with animal prints. The child has a bandage on their forehead. The background includes a window, medical supplies, and a blue wall.

A room with benches, plastic containers, and oral rehydration solution (ORS): these are the simple tools that furnish a typical oral rehydration therapy (ORT) corner. In the 1980’s, this highly effective, low-cost intervention tremendously impacted child mortality, but as other global health priorities competed for attention, ORT corners fell into disrepair or disappeared completely.

In Western Province, Kenya, that picture is changing. Since 2009, PATH has helped established 37 ORT corners, and health workers already note a sharp decrease in the number of children who are admitted to pediatric wards for severe dehydration. With ORT corner treatment, children who may have spent days in the hospital are released within a matter of hours. Click through the photos to see this lifesaving intervention in action.

The World Health Organization recommends oral rehydration solution and zinc as the cornerstone treatment of diarrheal disease. Learn about a new effort to increase access to both tools.

A group of seven people stands outside a building. One person is presenting a yellow booklet to another. The individuals wear a mix of professional attire, including white coats, dresses, and business casual outfits. The background shows a building with windows and a corrugated roof.
A table with a colorful tablecloth holds a tray with several cups and containers. In the forefront, open notebooks with handwritten notes are visible, and a person's hand is holding a piece of paper.
A healthcare worker in a white uniform sits with a man and a woman holding a baby. They are gathered in a clinic setting with medical supplies on the table, discussing or reviewing documents.
A person wearing a yellow shirt and a black beanie labeled "Paris" is sitting on a couch, feeding an infant dressed in a light green outfit. The setting appears to be indoors, with a pillow and a table in the background.
A woman in a light blue shirt hands a box to another woman in a business outfit. A young girl sits nearby wearing a pink dress. The scene appears to take place inside a room with barred windows and a calendar hanging on the wall.
A man, wearing a white shirt, and a woman, wearing a yellow and white dress, are in a room. The man is holding a baby wrapped in a blue and orange blanket, while the woman looks on. A wall with a poster and a window with curtains are in the background.
Two people are standing beside a table covered with a floral tablecloth. On the table are a silver tray with several colorful mugs and a jug of water. They are in a brightly lit room with a large window in the background.
Two women sit on a wooden bench. The woman on the left is dressed in a pink outfit and is holding a baby wrapped in a pink blanket. The woman on the right wears a blue outfit and glasses. In front of them is a wooden table with various colorful containers and boxes.
A person in an orange shirt is feeding a baby using a bottle. The baby is wrapped in a colorful blanket with animal prints and is lying in the person's arms. The setting appears to be a simple room with blue walls and supplies in the background.
Three healthcare workers sit together, two women wearing nurse uniforms and one man in a shirt and tie. They have identification badges and are seated indoors, smiling slightly at the camera.
A table with various medical supplies, including a single burner electric stove, boxes of Lyfe oral rehydration salts (ORS), medication blister packs, and several bottles of medicine. A sign on a cardboard box reads "MINISTRY OF HEALTH WEBUYE DISTRICT OUT PATIENT.
Two women sitting with two toddlers on their laps in a waiting room. The children are wearing red and white clothing. Two red cups are on the table in front of them. Medical posters are on the wall in the background.
A group of seven people stands outside a building. One person is presenting a yellow booklet to another. The individuals wear a mix of professional attire, including white coats, dresses, and business casual outfits. The background shows a building with windows and a corrugated roof.

Diarrheal disease takes a deadly toll in Bungoma District. This hospital didn’t have time to wait for the ORT corner facility to be added to the hospital. They added a makeshift extension to serve as a temporary ORT corner so they could continue to treat dehydrated patients while the permanent space was built.

A table with a colorful tablecloth holds a tray with several cups and containers. In the forefront, open notebooks with handwritten notes are visible, and a person's hand is holding a piece of paper.

Records from Webuye District Hospital show a steady decrease in the number of patients admitted for severe dehydration after the installation of their ORT corner.

A healthcare worker in a white uniform sits with a man and a woman holding a baby. They are gathered in a clinic setting with medical supplies on the table, discussing or reviewing documents.

While treating their children at the ORT corner, mothers also are empowered through education on how to recognize warning signs of dehydration, when to take the child to the hospital, and how to prevent diarrhea.

A person wearing a yellow shirt and a black beanie labeled "Paris" is sitting on a couch, feeding an infant dressed in a light green outfit. The setting appears to be indoors, with a pillow and a table in the background.

At the Kakamega Provincial General Hospital’s ORT corner, a mother spoonfeeds ORS to her daughter.

A woman in a light blue shirt hands a box to another woman in a business outfit. A young girl sits nearby wearing a pink dress. The scene appears to take place inside a room with barred windows and a calendar hanging on the wall.

PATH staff deliver hot plates for sterilizing water and cooking porridge to a health care worker at a hospital in Bungoma District. Diarrhea and malnutrition are a vicious cycle that can have a negative long-term impact on a child’s physical and cognitive development. A healthy meal is important for a child’s recovery, in addition to rehydration.

A man, wearing a white shirt, and a woman, wearing a yellow and white dress, are in a room. The man is holding a baby wrapped in a blue and orange blanket, while the woman looks on. A wall with a poster and a window with curtains are in the background.

In the Kimilili hospital ward in Western Province, Kenya, Alfred Ochola, primary health care coordinator for PATH’s Enhanced Diarrheal Disease Control Initiative, examines a severely dehydrated child. It is her fifth day receiving expensive IV fluids, but if she had been treated with ORS at the first sign of dehydration, she could have gone home healthy within a matter hours.

Two people are standing beside a table covered with a floral tablecloth. On the table are a silver tray with several colorful mugs and a jug of water. They are in a brightly lit room with a large window in the background.

Health care workers continually advocate for ORT corner coverage. An ORT corner allows mothers to participate in the treatment of their children while staff attend to numerous other patients.

Two women sit on a wooden bench. The woman on the left is dressed in a pink outfit and is holding a baby wrapped in a pink blanket. The woman on the right wears a blue outfit and glasses. In front of them is a wooden table with various colorful containers and boxes.

ORT corners are furnished with a simple set of supplies: a comfortable bench, plastic containers, ORS, zinc, and a hot plate for sterilizing water and cooking porridge.

A person in an orange shirt is feeding a baby using a bottle. The baby is wrapped in a colorful blanket with animal prints and is lying in the person's arms. The setting appears to be a simple room with blue walls and supplies in the background.

This severely dehydrated child is now on the mend. Having been treated with IV infusions for five days, she is now receiving ORS.

Three healthcare workers sit together, two women wearing nurse uniforms and one man in a shirt and tie. They have identification badges and are seated indoors, smiling slightly at the camera.
A table with various medical supplies, including a single burner electric stove, boxes of Lyfe oral rehydration salts (ORS), medication blister packs, and several bottles of medicine. A sign on a cardboard box reads "MINISTRY OF HEALTH WEBUYE DISTRICT OUT PATIENT.
Two women sitting with two toddlers on their laps in a waiting room. The children are wearing red and white clothing. Two red cups are on the table in front of them. Medical posters are on the wall in the background.

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