The Gambia -- (Today) -- 01/28/10 -- The government of the Gambia has highlighted the important link between de-worming, child survival and the acquisition of education, reiterating its commitment to ensure that children are well catered for, protected and provided the much-needed education they need to grow into responsible adults.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of a de-worming training and Fast Track Initiative proposal development for the education sector held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel on Tuesday, Mr. Baboucarr Bouy, permanent secretary, Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education said that many students are absent from schools because they are victims of infections especially worms.
“Literature has it that worms infect more than one-third of the world's population, with the most intense infection in children and the poor. In the poorest countries, children are likely to be infected from the time they stop breast feeding, and to be continually infected and re-infected for the rest of their lives.”
According to him, such infections are long term and chronic and they can negatively affect all aspects of a child's development, namely health, nutrition, cognition, learning and educational access and achievement.
He noted that there is overwhelming evidence to suggest the correlation between worm infection and low learning outcomes of children as studies conducted in low-income countries in Africa, South America and Asia have confirmed that children with intense worm infections perform poorly in learning ability tests, cognitive function and educational achievement.
Mr. Bouy further said that children who are infected with worms are more absent from schools than those who are uninfected. “Conversely, children who are worm-free are lively, have a good appetite and are always ready to face new challenges in school,” he said noting that this in turn leads to increased enrolment and attendance, reduced class repetition and increased educational attainment.
According to him, The Gambia has interests to liberate its children of school-going age from worm infection, in support of the principles and ideals of Education for All.
He noted that the country is thus partnering with development partners such as ADB, UNICEF, WHO and WFP to benefit from implementation of a school- based de-worming programme which is described as a safe, simple and cost-effective strategy.
Speaking further, the permanent secretary noted that school-based de-worming has demonstrated its ability to reduce student absenteeism by 25 percent, and at a cost of less than US$0.50 per child per year.
Research, he said, has reliably revealed that de-worming is six times cheaper than providing meals and costs twenty times less than giving uniforms.
He noted that with proper targeting of children in need as opposed to a full blow country-wide intervention, every infected child could be treated, with immediate impacts on their health, education, and long-term productivity. “If there ever was a best buy for the education sector, de-worming is surely one,” he asserted.
Mr. Bouy added that the success of de-worming cannot be devoid of schools, given that there are more schools than clinics and more teachers than health workers, schools offer a readily available extensive and sustained infrastructure with a skilled workforce that is in close contact with the community.
According to him, such infrastructure in schools provides a unique opportunity to deliver medicine to the highest number of children and with minimal training and support from local health services, teachers can deliver this intervention to large numbers of school-aged children in a sustainable fashion.
He said teachers need training to understand the rationale for de-worming and how to administer the pills and keep a record of the distribution.
“ Undertaking this master-level training in the design and implementation of school-based de-worming is not only timely, but provides an opportunity for our education systems to deliver an integrated school health program that includes the key elements of the FRESH (Focus Resources on effective school health) health policies that advocate the role of teachers in health promotion and delivery)”
The workshop, he then noted, was aimed at assisting the governments of The Gambia, Sierra Leone and Liberia to develop school health proposals for FTI funding, using de-worming as an entry point, and to provide for school-based de-worming.
Also speaking at the workshop, UNICEF country representative Ms. Min-Whee Khan said the hosting of the training on de-worming by the government of the Gambia is a clear testimony of the commitment to improve child survival and development and UNICEF would continue to support this commitment.
According to her, UNICEF works to ensure the rights of every child in The Gambia by supporting intervention for child survival and development, including health, education, protection and quality. She added that in the area of de-worming, UNICEF works with children before they enter the schools, children from 12-59 months, and it has been one of their priorities in The Gambia over the past years, and it shall remain a priority until children no longer suffer from worm-related illnesses.
She added that ensuring that every child survives and develops to their fullest human potential is not only a key mandate of UNICEF but also a key outcome of the millennium development goals and MDG 1(poverty eradication) and MDG 4 (reducing child mortality).
She revealed that UNICEF in collaboration with the National Nutrition Agency and other partners, have provided de-worming services reaching more than 80 percent of all children aged between 12-59 months nationally over the past five years.
“As many as 150,000 children die each year worldwide from intestinal obstruction and other abdominal complications caused by large adult worms. For millions of other children, worms are a significant cause of malnutrition, stunted growth and severe anemia, dysentery, delayed puberty, and problems with learning and memory,” she said.
She further revealed that transmission is easy, especially where good hygiene and sanitation are inadequate. A child walking barefoot can pick up hookworm. “By putting a dirty finger in her mouth, she may ingest roundworm eggs. It is not uncommon for a child to carry up to 1,000 hookworms, roundworms and whipworms that deplete blood and nutrients.”
According to the UNICEF rep, worms affect nutrition in several ways; as they ingest blood which leads to losses of iron and other nutrients. Worms also cause the lining of the intestines to change. This reduces the surface membrane available for digestion and absorption.
As a result, fat, certain carbohydrates, proteins and several vitamins (including vitamin A) are not absorbed properly.
Speaking further, she noted that the health consequences of worm infestation are numerous making it important for all stakeholders to work towards improving the lives of children.
She said there is ample evidence on health benefits of de-worming and everything possible must be done to ensure that these critical services reach children everywhere regardless of their geographical location.
She also used the opportunity to acknowledge the first-rate work done by WFP, WHO, MoE and other partners in their effort to bring de-worming in schools targeting children aged seven years and above. UNICEF, NaNa and other partners will continue to complement these efforts by reaching children from 12-59 months.
She concluded by stating that it is time to take collective action to deal with this silent calamity faced by children to ensure that they grow up healthy, both physically and mentally. She then called for an overhaul of strategies to ensure that all child-related issues are inclusive.
Last Modified: December 02, 2009
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