By PATRICK ABANG, Calabar –
Over 48 million school age children urgently require treatment for Soil-Transmitted Helminth (STH) infections and 16.6 million school age children require treatment for Schistosomiasis.
The Cross River State Government and Neglected Tropical Disease (NTDs), and evidence action are committed to improving the mental health and physical development of young ones across the state, the Cross River Government is targeting a total of 886,292 children in both public and private schools for this year’s school-based deworming programme
The school-based deworming exercise is designed to keep the children in good health and cognitive state ahead of the new academic calendar.
The exercise is being implemented under the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Control and Elimination programme, and would cover schools in 14 out of the 18 Local Government Areas in the state.
Speaking about the exercise at a media parley in Calabar, the State NTD Coordinator, Mrs Veronica Mark, said the remaining four Local Government Areas of Abi, Obubra, Ikom, and Boki would be taken care of with a different strategic action plan
Mrs Mark explained that about 2,984 public and private schools are designated for the school-based deworming exercise and parents are advised to arm their children with drinking water and other related items since the exercise is based purely on the promotion of personal hygiene and healthy living standards.
Speaking at the occasion, the Senior Manager of Evidence Action Nigeria (EAN), Mr Toochi Ohaji commended the Cross River state government for demonstrating a pragmatic approach towards health-related interventionist programmes and expressed the determination of his organisation to continue to provide the required technical assistance for the success of the programme.
He also stated that as an international Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) based in the United States, the primary focus of EAN is to provide technical aid in selected states of the country in health-related interventionist programmes.
That EAN’s Deworm the World program has been active in Nigeria since 2016 and its activities have expanded significantly over the years. In 2016, they supported the Cross River State government to target 600,000 school-age children and as of today, five state governments in Rivers, Cross River, Lagos, Oyo, and Ogun are enjoying support to reach over seven million children annually.
Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) refer to a diverse group of parasitic and bacterial diseases that cause significant morbidity and mortality in more than one billion people worldwide, which disproportionately affect poor and marginalized populations.
Available statistics indicate that these diseases can cause severe disfigurement and disabilities, including blindness, developmental disabilities and malnutrition, with health experts warning that these conditions can cause both social and economic challenges in the regions where they are most prevalent.
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