Diarrhoea Morbidity Differentials among Children in Pakistan

The present study used the 1995-96 Pakistan Integrated Household Survey data to determine the socio-economic, demographic, and environmental covariates of both prevalence and duration of diarrhoea among children under five in Pakistan. Seven logit models were estimated to determine factors influencing the probability of occurrence of diarrhoea. Seven Proportional Hazards Models were used to examine factors determining the duration of diarrhoea. Results revealed that around 20 percent of children under five suffered from diarrhoea in the 30 days prior to the survey. Child’s age was negatively associated with diarrhoea morbidity. Children who had measles immunisation were less likely than children without this immunisation to have diarrhoea. The study also revealed that in controlling the occurrence of diarrhoea among children, sanitation facilities seemed to be more important than the supply of drinking-water. With respect to the duration of diarrhoea, the hazard models showed that younger children, particularly under the age of two, were relatively at a greater risk to suffer from longer diarrhoea episode. The use of Nimkol (ORT) showed a significant and positive effect on recovering quickly from the diarrhoea morbidity. The findings of the study suggest that mothers should be given health education so that they are familiar with the simply prepared treatment, Nimkol, and have knowledge about personal hygiene, and specially of preparing supplementary foods for children.