The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development in collaboration with the Kwara state government has flagged off deworming programme of school-age children.
Speaking at the event in Ilorin, the National Coordinator of the National Tropical Diseases (NTD) unit of the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Nse Akpan, said that the programme was under the the National Home Grown School Feeding Progmme in selected eleven Schistosomiasis endemic local government areas of the state.
Represented by Adewale Ayodeji, Dr. Akpan said sixty three wards in eleven local government areas that are classified as highly and moderately endemic with schistosomiasis would be treated with free, safe and effective praziquantel PZQ 600mg.
He said that the deworming drug was donated to the state through the Federal Ministry of Health, adding that it would be administered using a calibrated dose pole on the children.
Dr. Akpan said that over 804, 219 school age children and over 184, 289 adults are at risk of Schistosomiasis, noting that the disease is endemic in 15 local government areas of Kwara state.
In her address, the state coordinator of National Social Investment Programme (NSIP), Hajia Bashirat Abdulrazaq, said that an estimated 1,456 schools were enlisted to benefit free feeding programme in the state during flag off in July 2022.
ALI MUHAMMAD RABIU