Health
HAJIYA Sadiya Farouq, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management and Social Development (FMHADMSD) says the ministry is partnering with Ministry of Health to deworm children across the nation.
She made this known at the launch of the deworming exercise at Government Primary School, Anantigha in Calabar.
Represented by Mr Chogudo Sule, a Director in the ministry, Farouq said that the 2022 School Based Deworming exercise is
an intergovernmental collaboration through multi-sectoral partnership for children between ages five and 14.
She said that the measure was to achieve the objectives of the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP).
She explained that while the Ministry of Health and its partners would be deploying their expertise to ensure the exercise was
carried out, FMHADMSD would provide support in advocacy, mobilisation, sensitisation and training at the state and local governmentlevels.
She said “n an effort to achieve maximum nutritional benefits through the NHGSFP, government across all tiers has mobilised and deployed a nationwide deworming exercise.
“The exercise is with particular emphasis on pupils benefitting from NHGSFP to access the free deworming medications together with free meals,” she said.
Dr Janet Ekpenyong, the Director-General Cross River State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (CRSPHCDA), said the agency would ensure that children in the state were dewormed.
Ekpenyong maintained that the state is targeting 800,000 children, adding that Soil Transmitted Helminthiasis affects children in so many ways and could prevent them from absorbing vitamin A as well as other nutrients.
She said “globally, about 1.4 billion people are affected by worms, this shows how common this problem is among people, so, Cross River is not taking it lightly as it is commencing the exercise in nine most endemic local government areas, to be expanded to all the 18 areas of the state.
She added that “children would be given mebendazole in schools, religious houses and other places but parents can still visit health facilities with their children to get the drug as it will be made available there too.
“Parents should be rest assured that the drug is safe and for the best interest of their children and wards,” she affirmed.
On her part, Mrs Veronica Mark, the state Coordinator, Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD), said the state was no longer doing a house-to-house treatment
for worms after an assessment showed that it was no longer necessary.
Mark, however, added that to totally eradicate the disease, there is need to gather children in schools for wider reach.
One of the parents, Mrs Felicia Ekpo who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said she was happy with the commencement of the programme
in her children’s school, adding that it showed that government is concerned about peoples’ welfare.
She called on parents to avail their children the opportunity to be dewormed, saying that the drug is safe and good of children. (NAN)
KN
Tags: Chogudo Sule Felicia Ekpo FMHADMSD Hajiya Sadiya Farouq Janet Ekpenyong Veronica Mark
