By Frank Ulom
The Government of Cross River State has dedicated five days, starting from Wednesday, 24th April to Tuesday, 30th April 2024, for deworming of school and out-of-school children in the state.
In a joint press statement by Mrs Veronica Mark, Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) Coordinator, Cross River State Ministry of Health, and Mr Toochi Ohaji, Senior Manager, Evidence Action, Nigeria, the deworming exercise is for children between the ages of 4 to 15 years.
The statement said the deworming exercise is for both public and private schools and encompasses Nursery, Primary and Secondary classes.
The exercise which will take place in schools targets 886,292 schoolchildren in 14 out of the 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state, excluding Abi, Boki, Obubra and Ikom.
2024 Deworming Exercise In Cross River State
- Date: 24-29th April 2024 – Wednesday (24th April), Thursday (25th April), Friday (26th April), Monday (29th April) and Tuesday (30th April).
- Time: School Period (7am – 2pm)
- Venue: All Nursery, Primary and Secondary Schools and Communities in 14 LGAs except the ones earlier listed
- Age: 5 to 14 years
- NOTE: Ensure your child eats before going to school – also give them water to take along.
“During this round of treatment in Cross River State, a total of 623,828 school-aged children will be targeted to receive Mebendazole tablets for the preventive treatment of Soil-transmitted Helminthiasis (STH) and 173,000 will be targeted for Schistosomiasis (SCH) treatment and will receive Praziquantel tablets. About 1000 healthcare workers have been trained to administer the deworming tablets in over 2,000 schools and 2,000 communities across 14 LGAs,” the statement said.
In a media parley with journalists, traditional rulers and other stakeholders at the NUJ Press Centre in Calabar on Tuesday, Mrs Mark said: “The state is treating schistosomiasis which is dormant in the Northern Senatorial District and endemic to 68 political wards, and soil-transmitted helminthiasis which is very common in schoolchildren.
“The drugs are administered based on height to children between 5 to 14 years and it’s done once in every year.”
Ohaji during the media parley also disclosed that the deworming medicines are safe, free and effective and are to be administered by mouth.
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“The free medicines were donated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to the Ministry of Health to target children between age 5-14 years and are safe, free and effective. The treatment is not for Abi, Boki, Obubra and Ikom LGAs; they are captured in another programme. Health workers have been trained in the 14 LGAs to carry out the treatment,” he said.
The Evidence Action Manager stressed that the medicines treat all levels/burdens of worms, adding, “There’s a chance a child taking the medicines will stool worms if he/she has a high volume of worms in the body.
“However, if a child is already dewormed, he/she needs not to take the drug if it’s less than 3 months because it can cause some discomfort and adverse effects.”
He noted further that “Not every child is eligible to take the medicine – these categories of children include those that are very sick, epileptic and anaemic.
“The most affected are children who play on the ground, picking fruits, those who stay at riverine areas, and the poor population with poor hygiene, lacking portable water supply, practising open defaecation, among others.”
Ohaji also warned against combantrin, saying, “Taking combantrin every three months is not an appropriate prescription.”
More Information About The Deworming Exercise
- Schistosomiasis covers 5 LGAs
- Soil-transmitted Helminthiasis covers 9 LGAs
- Out-of-school children should visit nearby schools for deworming, even if they are not registered with the school
- Children who are sick, epileptic and anaemic are not supposed to take the deworming medicine
- Children should eat before taking the medicine
- Community open spaces, market places and churches will also be used for the exercise
