National Program to treat one of the largest at-risk school-age populations in the world for parasitic worms
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - January 7th, 2015 - The Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health is launching a groundbreaking national school-based deworming programme to treat at-risk school-age children for intestinal worms and schistosomiasis across the country.
Ethiopia will target the treatment of at least 80% of children at risk for parasitic worms by 2020, in line with World Health Organization goals and the Ethiopian Master Plan for Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Ethiopia has one of the highest burdens of neglected tropical diseases in the world, with over 10M children at risk for schistosomiasis and 18M children at risk for soil-transmitted helminths -- types of intestinal parasitic worms.
Helminth and schistosomiasis infections interfere with nutrient uptake in children; can lead to anemia, malnourishment and impaired mental and physical development; and pose a serious threat to children’s health, education, and productivity.
With the new national programme, the Ethiopian government will treat one of the largest at-risk school-age populations in the world.
Ethiopia’s ambitious national school-based deworming programme will leverage funding from a variety of sources including the Federal Ministry of Health, private donors, the END Fund, and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development. The Schistosomiasis Control Initiative and Evidence Action, two non-governmental organizations, are providing technical assistance to the national programme.
The launch of the national deworming programme comes in the wake of a series of neglected tropical disease meetings in Addis including the 20th Session of the World Health Organization’s Joint Action Forum and the Global Schistosomiasis Alliance and the STH Coalition convenings, with representatives from over 20 countries in attendance.
Contacts:
Nujuma Bedru, NTD Control Department, Ethiopia Federal Ministry of Health, Email: nejumab@yahoo.com
Alexandra Weldon, Schistosomiasis Control Initiative at Imperial College, London; Email: a.weldon@imperial.ac.uk
Katrin Verclas, Communications Director, Evidence Action, Email: katrin.verclas@evidenceaction.org
Article text (excluding photos or graphics) available under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Creative Commons license.
Photos and graphics subject to third party copyright used with permission or © Imperial College London.
Reporter
Mrs Alexandra Grainger
School of Public Health
Contact details
Email: press.office@imperial.ac.uk
Show all stories by this author
