The Ghana Health Service (GHS), in the Bole District of the Savannah Region would from November 21 to 25, 2022 , embark on a District wide deworming exercise which aims at reaching over a number of children in-and-out of school in the District.
The annual exercise, would be embarked in both public and private schools across the District where children from Kindergarten to Junior High School, would be treated for soil-transmitted worm infestation, which caused a host of serious health problems, including lack of concentration in class, as well as various illnesses leading to regular absenteeism and eventually drop-outs.
A statement issued by the Bole District Health Directorate and copied to Yagbon Radio , said the country was on the threshold of its development and needed a well-developed and educated human capital to achieve the expected growth.
The statement explaining the status of NTDs in Ghana, noted that protecting the health of children and communities endemic with NTDs including as Onchocerciasis and intestinal worms, should not be compromised, but to be treated with utmost importance on the part of government as well as stakeholders.
The statement called on the media to participate in the coming event by intensifying public awareness and education on NTDs, to attract community support.
According to the statement, although reports from previous exercises, had shown great improvement in the reduction of these NTD across the various endemic communities, the persistent poor sanitation challenges continued to hinder total eradication.
The District Health Directorate therefore called on all public and private schools, as well as parents, to avail their children during the exercise to be dewormed by head teachers and school health teachers who had been trained to administer the deworming medicine Albendazole or Mebendazole (500 mg), and teach their students about the dangers of worms.
The statement includes that it was important that the public is educated about NTDs so they could appreciate the seriousness and dangers associated with these diseases and support in their treatment and eradication.
Source: yagbonradioonline
