As Rivers state Ministry of health carries out its first round of school-based deworming exercise, parent and caregivers have been called upon to avail their children between the ages of 5-14 years, the opportunity to be dewormed.
Commissioner for health, Professor Princewill Chike, who made this call during the flag-off ceremony of the 2018 deworming programme at Rumueme Girls Secondary School, Portharcourt, said worm infestation causes a lot of harm to children’s health.
According to him, the ministry has improved on its data indices in combating the neglected tropical disease, stressing that the state government is doing a lot to eradicate soil-transmitted diseases in the state.
The Commissioner noted that the exercise is slated for 26th to 28th June and urged parents to ensure that their children participated.
On his part, South-South Regional Program Manager of the Evidence Action, Joseph Kumbur, said the organization collaborated with the Federal and state ministries of health to ensure that the local government areas mapped out for the school deworming exercise in the state are successfully achieved.
Some of the school children who benefited from the deworming thanked the state government for giving them such opportunity to be dewormed.
