The Ghana Health Service (GHS) is collaborating with the Ghana Education Service to deworm about 1, 943, 000 school-aged children under the 2022 National School Deworming Exercise; themed ‘Achieving Health Equity to End Schistosomiasis.’
Children between the ages of five and 14 years from 11,322 schools in 89 districts are expected to be part of the exercise which will take place in all the regions except the Ahafo Region which has only category B schools.
The exercise begins on Monday, November 21, to December 9, 2022 in all public and private schools.
The exercise, according to the GHS, is one of the strategies for controlling and eliminating schistosomiasis and soil transmitted helminthiasis.
It is also to prevent absenteeism and improve academic performance. It says deworming improves health and school participation for both treated and untreated school-aged children.
Speaking at the press briefing of the 2022 National School Deworming Exercise, Deputy Director General of the Ghana Heath Service, Dr Anthony Ofosu Adofo, pleaded with parents to avail their wards for the exercise and should be rest assured that the drugs are safe.
Teachers have been trained to administer the popular Albendazole (400mg) and Praziquantel (600mg) which he says has been administered to Ghanaians following the impact of Akosombo Dam construction.
Every child is entreated to eat before taking the dose while schools have been directed to administer them after school feeding.
Theresa Oppong Mensah, Director in charge of School Health Education Programme at the GES, assured the service’s readiness to accomplish this exercise. She says teachers are abreast with training to check height and other requirements of the children before administering the medicine.