India’s ORS is a global market of $660 million! Born in India’s refugee camps–
During the Pakistan-Bangladesh turf war, this simple but magical salt-sugar elixir has saved over 70 million lives.
ORS’s journey to the world –
In 1971- Bangladesh (East Pakistan then) was amid a liberation war. Nearly 10 million had fled across the border to take refuge in India. But, they were not the only ones taking refuge. The camp became a breeding ground for diarrhoea-inducing Cholera due to unclean water. The only treatment? IV-solution drip. The problem? It was in short supply & needed trained staff to administer it.
That’s when Dr Dilip Mahalanabis– the camp supervisor– came up with an easy-to-administer fix:
4 tsp table salt
3 tsp baking soda
20 tsp commercial glucose
And, it worked!
The fatality rate dropped from 30% to 3.6% in 14 days !
Soon WHO realised the power of ORS.
It was cheap & effective– making it the perfect front-runner in the fight against global cholera & diarrhoea.
Today it’s a global market of $660M, soon to reach $1.2B in the next 5 years. However, the fight is not over yet. 94% of women claim to have ORS. But, diarrhoea is still a leading cause of death in children in India.
Another problem, Big brands like Johnson & Johnson sell costlier ORSL– which is not ORS. It’s basically a glorified sports drink but not a treatment for diarrhoea. Although the FSSAI has ordered brands not to sell drinks under the good name of ORS, the practice continues unabashedly.
India’s Kindness & Invention of ORS
