By Joyce Danso
Accra, Oct. 26, GNA – The Ghana Health Service (GHS) will on October 28, begin the 2024 National School and Community Mass Drug Administration to deworm 2,595,685 children of school-going age.
The week-long exercise, targeted at children from the age of five to 14 years, is expected to end on November 3, 2024.
Children in private and public schools are expected to benefit from the exercise.
“This year’s deworming exercise aims to treat 12,907 schools in 100 districts spread across the 15 regions. A total of 2,595,685 school aged children are targeted for treatment,” Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director General, Ghana Health Service (GHS), said.
Speaking to the media in Accra, on Friday, Dr. Kuma- Aboagye urged all schools, parents and caregivers to cooperate and support the deworming exercise to eliminate parasitic infestations.
“We encourage all schools (both public and private), parents, regardless of social status, gender, or religion to cooperate, collaborate, and support the deworming exercise in the targeted districts and schools to improve coverage and help eliminate parasitic infestations in Ghana.”
Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the national school and community deworming exercise aims to eliminate schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminth infestations.
Schistosomiasis is a disease caused by parasitic worms that live in freshwater. Infestation is more common in children in poverty-stricken areas due to poor sanitation and hygiene. Experts say environmental exposure to Schistosoma-contaminated water is the primary mode of transmission in endemic areas.
The WHO estimates that nearly one in four of the world’s population or over 1.5 billion people globally are infested with intestinal worms, with more than 880 million school-aged children requiring attention.
Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the exercise, a collaborative effort between the GHS and the Ghana Education Service (GES) is to promote the health and immunity of school aged children.
During the exercise, he said praziquantel (600 mg) and albendazole (400mg) would be administered to eligible children.
“It is important for all children to eat before taking these medicines, as it helps in the absorption and effectiveness of the medication.
Preferably, medicines should be administered immediately after the first break or after children have been served food by the feeding programme to ensure that all children have eaten,” Dr Kuma-Aboagye said.
He appealed to all parents, guardians and caregivers to ensure that their children eat before going to school.
The Director General of GHS said in Ghana, schistosomiasis has an estimated country-wide prevalence of 23 per cent with localised prevalence levels exceeding 50 per cent.
“These infestations are typically transmitted by contact with contaminated soil or water and tend to affect school -aged children most severely due to their underdeveloped immune systems.
Additionally, children in schools and playgrounds are often in close contact, increasing the likelihood of transmission of intestinal worms.”
The Director General of GHS said school-based deworming was cost effective and with the existing school structure, teachers have been trained to administer anthelmintic medicines to eligible children.
According to him, “these medicines will be administered under strict supervision of selected trained teachers and health workers.”
He said schistosomiasis had various signs and symptoms including abdominal pains, diarrhea, blood in the urine and stool, liver damage, spleen enlargement, anemia, malnutrition and decreased productivity.
Dr Kuma-Aboagye explained that Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS) was a severe consequence of Schistosoma Infestations that could occur in girls and women, especially in endemic areas.
“This condition has a significant impact on the quality of life, including infertility and menstrual disorders and recurrent urinary tract infections.”
He noted that the elimination of schistosomiasis and control of soil-transmitted helminthiasis was based on large -scale treatment of at-risk population groups, access to safe water, improved sanitation, hygiene education, behaviour change, snail control and environmental management.
Mrs. Theresa Oppong -Mensah, Director, School Health Education Programme (SHEP) of Ghana Education Service (GES) said schools were fully prepared for the deworming exercise.
She said: “We have put in place a lot of interventions in readiness for this exercise starting from Monday October 28 to November 3, 2024. Teachers are ready.”
Mrs. Oppong-Mensah said the GES has also collaborated with the School Feeding Programme to ensure that enough food was provided to children on the day of the administration of the medicines.
According to her, parents and guardians have also been educated on the exercise and they are going to provide water and food.
The medicines for the deworming exercise were donated to the GHS through the World Health Organisation.
GNA