The Edo State Government in partnership with the Carter Centre has intensified sensitization and advocacy on the treatment and prevention of Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) among children aged 5 to 14 years in the state.
Representative of the Executive Secretary, Edo State Primary Health Care Development Agency (EDSPHCDA) and the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics Dr. Aimua Ehijele, said this during an advocacy visit to the Head of Local Government Administration (HOLGA) Oredo Local Government Area, Mr Kessington Osifo.
He said the state government through the Ministry of Health will continue to intensify efforts to ensure a smooth distribution of deworming medicines, Mebendazole and Albendazole for the treatment and prevention of NTD among children aged 5 to 14 years in Edo State.
According to him, the visit was carried out to intimate the HOLGA on the intention to transition deworming programme of the Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) and ensure government ownership so that the deworming treatment for all enrolled school-age children between the ages of 5 to 14 years will be implemented through a coordinated approach called School-Based Deworming Mass Administration of Medicines.
“It is important to integrate the deworming program into the school system,” he added.
The Edo State NTD Coordinator, Mrs. Poko Happy said the four NTD diseases targeted for elimination and control in the State are Lymphatic Filiariasis, Onchocerciasis, Schistosomiasis and Soil Transmitted Helminth, adding that the Carter Centre has been supporting the four NTD programmes across the 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state.
The Programme Officer, Carter Centre, Dr. Hope Ogiko, reiterated that the centre remains committed to providing drugs and technical support for the treatment and prevention of NTD.
