Emilio Bellard

Mexican physician who invented oral rehydration therapy (ORT), saving millions from childhood diarrhea.

Emilio Bellard (1917–2002) was a visionary pediatrician whose discovery of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) revolutionized global healthcare. Working in Mexico City during the 1960s, he observed that infants with severe dehydration from diarrhea often died due to lack of intravenous access. Bellard pioneered a simple solution: mixing salt, sugar, and clean water to rehydrate patients orally. His 1968 clinical trials proved ORT reduced mortality rates by over 90%, earning acclaim from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Despite initial skepticism from medical peers who doubted a "home remedy," Bellard's work became the foundation for the WHO's Global ORT Initiative. By 2000, his method had saved an estimated 50 million children's lives worldwide. He later collaborated with UNICEF to distribute ORT packets in disaster zones, earning the Nobel Prize nomination in 1983.

Bellard's legacy is memorialized in the Emilio Bellard Foundation, which trains healthcare workers in low-income countries. His story is featured in the documentary The Sugar Solution, highlighting how grassroots innovation can solve global health crises.