Childhood diarrhea remains a major public health challenge, with a global prevalence exceeding 63% and an estimated 525,000 deaths annually, despite the availability of simple and effective treatments. In developing countries, including India, children experience diarrhea on average three times per year, with a mortality rate of approximately 9–9.5%, resulting in nearly 300 deaths each day. Key contributing factors include poor sanitation, unsafe drinking water, child growth failure, and the rising burden of antibiotic resistance. In the absence of early point-of-care tools to accurately differentiate the etiology of diarrhea, doctors often give antibiotics unnecessarily, which further exacerbates antimicrobial resistance. This underscores the urgent need for innovative diagnostic solutions that enable early differentiation of diarrheal causes, thereby supporting evidence-based clinical decision-making and ensuring more targeted treatment.