Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Jagat Prakash Nadda launched the National STOP Diarrhoea Campaign 2024, in New Delhi. He was joined by Anupriya Patel and Jadhav Patraprao Ganpatrao, Union Ministers of State for Health and Family Welfare. The dignitaries also released IEC materials like logo, posters, radio spots and audio visuals for the campaign and distributed oral rehydration salts (ORS) and zinc tablets to children on the occasion.

The goal behind the STOP Diarrhoea Campaign 2024 is to attain zero child deaths due to childhood diarrhoea. While the existing diarrhoea strategy entailed a 2-week campaign with pre-positioning of ORS to under-5 children and limited IEC, the new strategy involves a 2-month long campaign with pre-positioning of 2 ORS packets and zinc as a co-packaging to under-5 children.

It will also involve extensive IEC through different platforms and collaboration across multiple sectors, including health, water and sanitation, education, and rural development.

Union Health Minister also emphasised on the importance of sensitising health workers along with enhancing capacity building efforts to strengthen diarrhoea management effort in India. 

To tackle the persistent issue of childhood diarrhoea and strive for zero child deaths, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has rebranded its long-standing Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF) as the STOP Diarrhoea Campaign. This initiative, which began in 2014, focuses on enhancing the Prevent, Protect, and Treat (PPT) strategy and increasing the use of Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) and Zinc.