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Zinc Alliance for Child Health celebrates 10 years of life-saving programming
The partnership has expanded the supply of zinc in eight countries across Africa and Asia and helped to train more than 60,000 health workers to effectively treat diarrhoea.
Posted on July 29, 2022
Ottawa, CANADA – The Zinc Alliance for Child Health (ZACH), a partnership between Teck Resources Limited (“Teck”), Nutrition International and the Government of Canada, is celebrating 10 years of collaborating to prevent diarrhoea-related deaths of children under the age of five by increasing access to life-saving zinc treatments. Zinc, combined with low-osmolarity oral rehydration salts (LO-ORS), is an effective diarrhoea treatment.
By providing financial and technical support to governments through Nutrition International, ZACH has strengthened healthcare systems by expanding the supply of zinc in eight countries across Africa and Asia and helped to train more than 60,000 health workers in diarrhoea management with zinc and LO-ORS. Through these efforts, the partnership has treated more than 60 million cases of childhood diarrhoea worldwide and helped to save the lives of more than 37,000 children.
“The ZACH partnership illustrates the impact that the private, public and civil society sectors can have when they come together to build a better world,” said the Honourable Harjit Sajjan, Canada’s Minister of International Development. “This decade-long effort has made a real-world difference in the lives of millions of children and that is something that all Canadians should take pride in.”
“The combination of zinc and LO-ORS is a low-cost, high-impact treatment to save children’s lives,” said Nutrition International President and CEO Joel Spicer. “Together with Teck and the Government of Canada, we are working to give more children happier, healthier childhoods.”
“Teck is one of the world’s largest producers of zinc and we are committed to addressing the global problem of zinc deficiency,” said Don Lindsay, President and CEO, Teck. “We are very proud to be part of the ZACH partnership which is having a profound impact in many countries by providing life-saving zinc treatments to children in need.”
ZACH continues to support governments in countries with high rates of childhood diarrhoea to increase availability and accessibility of zinc and LO-ORS.
Video
Celebrating 10 years of the Zinc Alliance for Child Health
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