Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)

Every year more than 800,000 children die needlessly from diarrhea, the 2nd leading cause of child deaths globally which can be easily prevented with simple treatment, zinc and oral rehydration salts (ORS). The IKEA Foundation is joining forces with CHAI to save nearly 40,000 children’s lives by 2015, by ensuring that the majority of all children suffering diarrhea in both Kenya and two of the poorest states in India—Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh —are receiving the right treatment. The IKEA Foundation is supporting CHAI with a four-year commitment of €20 million/USD $25 million to increase children’s access to life-saving medicines. CHAI will partner with governments to drive an ambitious, large-scale approach that builds demand for zinc and ORS, and also ensures widespread availability of quality products in public and private health facilities and retail outlets. To create demand, CHAI will pursue a commercial approach that educates moms on the right treatment for their child’s diarrhea and ensures that health workers fully understand the benefits of zinc and ORS over alternatives. CHAI will also encourage manufacturers to develop more child-friendly formulations than currently exists in low-income markets, for example pre-mixed “juice box” versions of ORS that eliminate the need for clean drinking water.