Oral Rehydration Therapy, a ‘simple Solution’ : History and Global Application*

* Eleventh (11th) Hasi Majumdar Memorial Lecture, E.T.O., University of Calcutta, February 28, 2014 ** Director, Society for Applied Studies, CF-198, Salt Lake, Sector-I, Kolkata-700 064 My friends often asked me to write my own account on the development of ORT and its global implementation. I hesitated so long partly due to my preoccupation with my ongoing work and partly my desire not to offend some of my friends competing among themselves for credit who were involved with the development of ORT. As time passed, I note considerable asymmetry on information, loss of information and distoration of information on the history of ORT development. The last one is partly due to rationalization of events by many as the time passed by. I should add, writing history of events in which I was a part, makes it difficult. In this paper, I have tried to be as objective as possible yet it should be treated as an account from my personal and professional point of view and I am responsible for omissions and inaccuracies. I start with a summary of relevant physiological studies, the relevant clinical studies on proof of concept, clinical application and randomized Clinical Trials with ORT diarrhoea and finally its application among war refugees from Bangladesh under the most difficult field condition.