Health — Diarrhea & Oral Rehydration

Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of child mortality in Niger. Most deaths from diarrhea are caused not by the infection itself but by dehydration — the loss of water and salts from the body. This unit teaches the vocabulary for discussing diarrhea and dehydration, the steps for making a sugar-salt solution (ESS), and a sample dialogue for teaching mothers how to treat diarrhea at home.

Vocabulary

Zarma	English
sori/gunde kar	diarrhea
hari janay gaham ra	dehydration
ciri	salt
sukar	sugar
kawra	spoon
tasa	bowl
kuri	blood
nisi	mucus
harmun	urine
mundi	tears
longo	fontanelle
hayfuno	lethargic

Common Phrases

Zarma	English
Za watifo na go ga sori?	How long has he had diarrhea?
Kuri go ga ka?	Is there blood in the diarrhea?
A ga nwari nwa?	Has he been eating?
Aran ga faham da mata kan ni ga ciri da sukar haro te?	Do you know how to make ESS?
A go ga sori sohon hal marje waati?	How many times has he had diarrhea today?
Hari janay gaham ra ga hin ka wi zankey.	Dehydration can kill children.

Signs of Dehydration

When a child has diarrhea, look for these signs of dehydration:

Sign	Zarma	English
Dry mouth	Me korko	The mouth is dry
No tears	Mundi si ka	No tears when crying
Sunken fontanelle	Longo ga kaŋ	The fontanelle has sunk
Little urine	Harmun si ka kayna	Very little urine
Lethargy	Hayfuno	The child is weak and listless
Sunken eyes	Moey ga kaŋ	The eyes have sunk

ESS — Sugar-Salt Solution Instructions

The sugar-salt solution (ESS) is a simple oral rehydration treatment that any mother can prepare at home.

Steps in Zarma

1. Ni ma haw hari hanno litiro fo tasa ra. — Measure one liter of clean water in a sauce bowl.
2. Ni ma daŋ sukar batu seeze nda ciri ganji hinka kambe izey hinza nda. — Add eight cubes of sugar and two pinches of salt with three fingers.
3. Ni ma girma hal a kulu ma yangu. — Stir until everything is dissolved.
4. Sori kulu banda, ni ma noo zanke se a ma hamu. — After each episode of diarrhea, give the child some to drink.
5. Ni ma ci ga noo a se hal sori ma ban. — Continue giving it until the diarrhea stops.
6. Ni ma si dihun ga konda zanke dispensaire ga. — Don’t forget to bring the child to the dispensaire.

Important Notes

• The water must be clean (hari hanno) — boiled or filtered.
• Too much salt is dangerous. Use only two pinches with three fingers (ganji hinka kambe izey hinza nda).
• Too much sugar causes more diarrhea. Use only eight cubes (batu seeze).
• If the child vomits, wait ten minutes and try again with smaller sips.
• If there is blood in the diarrhea (kuri go ga ka), take the child to the dispensaire immediately.

Sample Dialogue — Teaching a Mother to Make ESS

A volunteer visits a compound where a mother’s young child has had diarrhea for two days.

Speaker	Zarma	English
Volunteer	Fofo! Mate ni go?	Hello! How are you?
Mother	Baani samay. Amma ay ize go ga sori.	Fine. But my child has diarrhea.
Volunteer	Za watifo na go ga sori?	How long has he had diarrhea?
Mother	Za bi. A go ga sori kayna.	Since yesterday. He has diarrhea a lot.
Volunteer	Kuri go ga ka?	Is there blood in it?
Mother	Kala. Kuri si ka.	No. No blood.
Volunteer	A ga nwari nwa?	Has he been eating?
Mother	A si ba a ma nwa. A gonda gaabi kala kayna.	He doesn’t want to eat. He has very little strength.
Volunteer	Hari janay gaham ra ga hin ka wi zankey. A hima ni ma te ciri da sukar haro — ESS.	Dehydration can kill children. You must make a sugar-salt solution — ESS.
Mother	Mate no ay ga te a?	How do I make it?
Volunteer	Ni ma haw hari hanno litiro fo tasa ra.	Measure one liter of clean water in a bowl.
Mother	Ay gonda hari hanno.	I have clean water.
Volunteer	Boori. Ni ma daŋ sukar batu seeze — fo, hinka, hinza, taaci, guu, iddu, iyye, seeze.	Good. Add eight sugar cubes — one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
Mother	Seeze. Ay faham.	Eight. I understand.
Volunteer	Koyne ciri — ganji hinka hinne kambe izey hinza nda. Ni ma si daŋ kayna!	Then salt — only two pinches with three fingers. Don’t add too much!
Mother	Ganji hinka. Boori.	Two pinches. Good.
Volunteer	Ni ma girma hal a kulu ma yangu. Koyne ni ma noo zanke se a ma hamu sori kulu banda.	Stir until dissolved. Then give the child some to drink after each episode of diarrhea.
Mother	Nda a na ban?	When it’s finished?
Volunteer	Ni ma te tamo. Ni ma ci ga noo a se hal sori ma ban. Nda sori man ban jiri hinka banda, ni ma konda a dispensaire ga.	Make more. Keep giving it until the diarrhea stops. If the diarrhea hasn’t stopped after two days, take him to the dispensaire.
Mother	Ay ga faham. Barka kayna!	I understand. Thank you very much!
Volunteer	Fo kulu si hima. Ni ma si dihun — hari hanno hinne nda ciri kayna kala nda sukar batu seeze.	It’s nothing. Don’t forget — only clean water with a little salt and eight sugar cubes.