14 September 2006, Limpopo
I am very pleased to be here with you to launch the Department of Health's De-worming Programme today.
We know that many children in South Africa are infested with different kind of worms. Children who live in areas that are without safe water supply and proper sanitation are especially at risk.
A lot of the food and nutrients which children eat is used by the worms to grow and reproduce, rather than to nourish the children themselves. Children with these worms do not grow well. And efforts by households and government to ensure that children receive an adequate, healthy and balanced diet through such interventions as school nutrition programme are undermined by worms.
The children with worms are also unable to concentrate properly at school, and they do not learn as much or as well as they should. Although all children may have worms, the problem is most common amongst children of school going age. Sometimes we know that children have these worms when they are discharged or because a child develops a complication. But in most cases, children and their families are unaware that they are infested and they are providing a home and food for worms.
Other worms like bilharzia, which is common in a number of provinces including Limpopo, are spread when people defecate or urinate in rivers or dams. Children who often swim in the rivers or dams are at risk of infection with these parasites, which also affect their physical and intellectual performance.
Studies from South Africa as well as from other African and Asian countries have shown that treating worms can improve the health, school attendance and physical and intellectual performance of school children.
Regular deworming of children can therefore be regarded as an extremely cost-effective strategy for promoting the health of our children. There are a number of important steps that need to be taken if we are to deal effectively with the problem of worm infestations amongst children.
In the long term, the most important intervention is to ensure that everyone has access to safe water supply and proper sanitation.
Communities and children need to be encouraged to practice good hygiene. For example all of us need to know the importance of washing their hands after visiting the toilet. We should all washing fruit and vegetables before eating them.
Medicines that are used to kill worms are readily available and have been shown to be very safe. In the past these medicines have only been given to children who present to health facilities with complications or with a history of having passed or vomited worms. However if these medicines are given to all children on a regular basis, then the problems caused by worms will be greatly reduced.
Deworming is already part of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses strategy. This means that children younger than five years who attend primary health care clinics or other health facilities should receive deworming treatment regularly, that is every six months. This is especially important for children who are not growing well, but every child whether they are sick or well should receive the treatment every six months.
This is one of the reasons why mothers and care-givers of children under five years of age should take their children to primary health care facilities on a regular basis for various services including immunisation and an opportunity for the children to receive Vitamin A supplementation. Mothers and other caregivers should check with nurses at the clinics as to whether their children have received the treatment and make sure that they get it regularly.
Deworming will now be extended to include children of school going age who should receive deworming medicine on a regular basis, which is once to three times a year.
The frequency as well as the type of medicine given will depend on where the school is situated. For example, children in some parts of provinces like Limpopo, Kwazulu-Natal and Eastern Cape should receive treatment against the worms which cause Bilharzia as this condition is common in these areas.
The success of deworming will depend on many role-players working together. Whilst the School Health and Health Promoting Schools initiatives will provide the framework for implementation of the deworming policy, mechanisms for ensuring that the policy is implemented effectively will need to be developed by each province.
Primary health care workers, environmental health workers, educators and school health nurses will have to work together in the implementation of this programme. Community members and parents of school children also have a role to play in encouraging and supporting deworming efforts and ensuring that all eligible children receive the treatment.
Deworming has the potential to significantly improve the health of our children, and to assist South Africa in meeting the Millennium Development goals - which includes commitment to reduce child mortality and improve health.
Let us all support effort to rid our children of worms.
Thank you