Diarrhea is a leading cause of death in children, with nearly 500,000 young lives lost to diarrhea each year. Almost all these lives could be saved with a low-cost and widely available treatment: oral rehydration salts (ORS). However, at the present time, nearly half of diarrhea cases around the world do not receive ORS. Millions of young lives could be saved if we can find ways to increase ORS use.

Even when children seek care from a health care provider for their diarrhea, as most do, they often do not receive ORS. Surprisingly, most health care providers in developing countries know that ORS is a lifesaving and inexpensive treatment for child diarrhea, yet few prescribe it. This know-do gap has puzzled experts for decades and cost millions of lives.