Ghana\u2019s Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service, will launch a nationwide deworming campaign for over two million school-aged children from October 28 to November 3, 2024. The program, called the 2024 National School and Community Deworming Exercise, targets both students and community members across 100 districts in 15 regions. Medications, provided by WHO, will be administered by trained teachers and health workers to treat and prevent schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths, both common in areas with poor sanitation. The initiative, backed by agencies including USAID, emphasizes improved nutrition and education on hygiene practices, with special measures ensuring that children eat prior to taking the medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, highlighted the significant health impacts of these parasitic infections, including symptoms like abdominal pain, anemia, and malnutrition, with potential for more severe consequences in women. He emphasized the importance of the deworming initiative in addressing Ghana\u2019s high infection rates and improving the overall health and productivity of affected communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Director of the Public Health Division, Dr. Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, urged media collaboration to increase public awareness. Theresa Oppong-Mensah from GES noted that schools are well-prepared to support the exercise, with provisions from the Ghana School Feeding Programme to ensure children have food on deworming days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ghana\u2019s Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service, will launch a nationwide deworming campaign for over two million school-aged children from October 28 to November 3, 2024. The program, called the 2024 National School and Community Deworming Exercise, targets both students and community members across 100 districts in 15 regions. Medications, provided […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-national"],"yoast_head":"\n