The Centre has launched a nationwide Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight to check child diarrhoeal deaths. During the drive which will continue till 23rd of this month, intensified community awareness campaigns on hygiene and promotion of Oral Rehydration Salt,ORS and Zinc therapy will be conducted at the state, district and village levels. Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Additional Secretary,Ministry of Health, C K Mishra said,there are about 10 crore children below five years of age across the country and the government aims at covering over 80 per cent of children.<br/><br/>He termed the drive as a very cost -effective intervention as the risk of spread of diarrhoea scales up during monsoon season. Over 1,2 lakh children under the age of five succumb to it annually.Mr Mishra said, Health workers will visit all households with children below five years of age for pre-positioning the ORS so that it could be used when required.<br/><br/><br/>Mr Mishra also said, during last year drive, nearly 6.3 crore children were covered and 21 Lakh children could be prevented from hospitalisation and death due to diarrhoea. The main reasons for diarrhoeal attacks include contaminated water,food,malnutrition,poor hygiene and inadequate sanitation.