The Six Killer Diseases

 Children in Britain and other developed countries are far less prone to death and disability from these diseases than children in Uganda. Poor housing and sanitation combined with an inadequate diet make children in Uganda more vulnerable. Many children do not even have access to a supply of safe drinking water and this seriously affects the spread of vaccine preventable diseases.

There are six basic diseases that kill 40,000 children every day, which have simple solutions to them. For example diarrhoea can diphtheria, usually be cured with a salt, sugar and water mixture which will cost as low as 10 US cents per solution. A child can be vaccinated against the above mentioned diseases at the cost of only $10.00 per child.

Breast milk alone is the cheapest and the best possible food and drink for a baby in the first four to six months of life. All substitutes, including cow's milk, milk powder solutions are inferior. Breast milk helps protect the baby against diarrhoea, coughs, and colds and provides. Natural immunisation against several other diseases. Some of the mother's antibodies (natural defences against diseases) are passed on to the child in her breast milk. Therefore, bottle feeding can lead to serious illness and death, especially if the water used for milk powder solutions is not safe. If possible, breast feeding should continue well into the second year of a child's life or longer.