Two million children saved in 1987; immunization, oral rehydration campaigns successful in third world.

The lives of 2 million children were saved in 1987 because simple, lowcost health techniques were promoted through an alliance of social resources-an approach that could save millions of lives in the future, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported in its "State of the World's Children 1988".

Even more lives can be saved through two converging processes, the report says. First, major threats to the normal growth of children can be suppressed providing parents with information on simple health-oriented techniques: immunization, oral therapies for diarrhoeal disease, breast-feeding, birthspacing, recognizing danger signs of acute respiratory infection, proper pre-natal care and general hygiene.

Second, the surge in communications capacity in virtually all nations over the last 10 years has put that knowledge at the disposal of the great majority of the world's people. Immunization goal within reach

In Senegal, one of the poorest nations in the world, fewer than 10 per cent of children had been immunized by 1985, and vaccinepreventable diseases were killing 30,000 children a year Now, some 70 per cent are protected against tuberculosis, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, measles and yellow fever

"The UN target of immunizing all children by 1990-considered unrealistic in the early 1980s-is now within reach," the report states. Ten years ago, less than 5 per cent of infants in the developing world were vaccinated against diseases which were killing 4.5 million children a year. Now immunization rates have reached 50 per cent for DPT vaccine and 40 per cent for measles-saving more than 1.3 million lives annually.

In addition to vaccinations, increasing use of oral rehydration therapy is saving 600,000 lives a year The greatest killer of the world's children is dehydration due to diarrhoeal disease, claiming 3 million young victims each year. The therapy supplements normal fluids given to diarrhoea sufferers to prevent dehydration. A child is given a simple solution of sugar and salt added to water, which can be mixed in the home by a parent. Traditional remedies, including vegetable or cereal soups, are also effective in preventing dehydration. Oral rehydration salts are increasingly available, costing only a few cents.

More children will survive

As these techniques become more widely used, more children are expected to survive, But that is not expected to exacerbate the problem of population growth. UNICEF has found that families actually have fewer children when they become more confident that their existing children will survive. UNICEF also suggests that birth-spacing and breast-feeding contribute to a slower population growth, acting as "natural contraceptives", delaying ovulation and thus pregnancy.