Teck lends a hand with zinc supplements for Senegal’s children

Each year, more than 4 billion cases of diarrhea cause 1.5 million deaths, including 6,000 in Senegal, and zinc deficiency is one of the leading risk factors. The effects of diarrhea can be fatal if left untreated, while germs that cause diarrhea are easily spread from one child to another. When sick children have diarrhea, they lose large amounts of minerals, salts and water, and can become dehydrated very quickly.

Teck Resources (TCK-T, TCK-N) and an Ottawa-based non-governmental organization called the Micronutrient Initiative are forming the Zinc Alliance for Child Health to develop and sustain zinc treatment programs that will help save children’s lives. This alliance is committed to reducing child mortality by using zinc supplements and oral rehydration salts to treat diarrhea, one of the most common killers of children in developing countries.

The Zinc Alliance for Child Health project in Senegal will increase the use of zinc supplementation and oral rehydration salts to treat diarrhea across the country.

This solution, which costs roughly 50¢ per treatment, can reduce the severity of diarrhea and save lives.

“The Micronutrient Initiative has been a Canadian partner that has helped improve the health of millions recognizing the importance of good nutrition and food supplementation,” says Beverley Oda, Canadian Minister of International Co-operation. “We are proud to have Teck join our Read complete details on every publicly traded North American mining company – their worldwide exploration activities, operations and so much more.

As one of the world’s largest zinc companies, Teck produced 645,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrates and 278,000 tonnes of refined zinc in 2010. The amount of zinc required for zinc supplements to treat all cases of zinc deficiency is less than 2% of Teck’s production, and less than 0.1% of global zinc production.

So the challenge is not in producing more zinc — it is getting zinc into the diets of people suffering from zinc deficiency.

“Through this partnership with the Micronutrient Initiative, the government of Canada and the Ministry of Health in Senegal, we will improve local awareness about zinc deficiency, enhance distribution systems and ultimately save children’s lives,” says Doug Horswill, senior vicepresident at Teck.

The project’s objective is to treat more than 2 million cases of diarrhea in children under the age of five over the next three years. Zinc and oral rehydration salts treatment will be delivered through health care workers at 4,000 service delivery points in Senegal.

The project is being launched as part of Senegal’s wider diarrhea prevention and treatment program under the Ministry of Health’s Division of Food, Nutrition and Child Survival. It will contribute to the country’s efforts to reduce child mortality rates and to meet its commitment to the United Nations Millennium Development Goal Four: Reducing Child Mortality.