GHS targets 2.6m children for ongoing nationwide deworming

 About 2.6 million school children are tar­geted for a nationwide deworming by Ghana Health Service (GHS) which began yesterday and expected to end on Sunday

The exercise covers children between ages five and 14 years, aims at eliminating schistosomi­asis and to control soil-transmit­ted helminth (STH) infestations in the country.

The medications which will be administered in both public and private schools in 100 districts in 15 regions, will also reach about 1.6 million out of school children and adults in 57 districts in 11 regions.

The Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboag­ye, who disclosed these in Accra on Friday, said the exercise would be in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) to promote the health and immunity of school-aged children.

Eligible children, he said, would be administered with 600 and 400 miligrams of prazi­quantel and albendazole under the strict supervision of special­ly trained teachers and health workers.

He advised that children eat before taking the medicines to help speed up 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,” he added.

The elimination of schisto­somiasis and control soil-trans­mitted helminthiasis, Dr Ku­ma-Aboagye noted, 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.

He, therefore, urged all par­ents, guardians, and caregivers to cooperate with school authori­ties to support the exercise and achieve its aim.

The Director of the School Health Education Programme of GES, Theresa Oppong Men­sah, gave the assurance that the schools were ready for the exer­

 cise, adding that arrangements had been made with the Ghana School Feeding programme to provide enough food on the day the medi­cines would be administered.

Moreover, she said parents had been educated on the deworming exercise, indicating the readiness of the GES for this year’s mass drug administration.

Schistosomiasis as a disease caused by parasitic worms that live in fresh water and more common in children in poverty stricken areas due to poor sanita­tion and hygiene.

Environmental exposure to schistosoma-contaminated water is the primary mode of trans­mission in endemic areas and it is essential to increase awareness of the disease prevention in the public

Some signs and symptoms include abdominal pains, diar­rhea, blood in urine and stool, liver damage, spleen enlarge­ment, anaemia, malnutrition and decreased productivity.

Female Genital Schistosomia­sis (FGS) for instance is a severe consequence of a schistosoma infestation that can occur in girls and women, especially in endem­ic areas.

The condition has a signif­icant impact on the quality of life, including infertility, men­strual disorders, and urinary tract infections.

Soil-transmitted helminthes (STH), on the other hand affects individuals who accidentally in­gest eggs found in contaminated soil, by consuming contaminated food or water, or by direct con­tact with the soil.

These infestations were mostly prevalent in areas with poor economic conditions with symptoms including abdominal pain, diarrhoea, anaemia, malnu­trition, and impaired physical and reduced cognitive development.

 BY ABIGAIL ANNOH

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