At least 450, 000 pupils from 880 primary schools in Trans Nzoia County were dewormed under the National Deworming programme.
The programme which was spearheaded by the Ministries of Health and Education is aimed at controlling parasitic worms in children under the age of 14 years.
Trans Nzoia Public Health Officer, Philip Bett, said the programme seeks to end the prevalence of soil transmitted parasites among them Tape Worms, Whip worms, Hook worms and Bilharzia.
“We are targeting school going children who are below 14 years who are likely to be exposed to factors that cause the spread of the worms,” said Mr. Bett who was addressing the press at Showground primary school in Kitale.
He said the programme which is carried out annually through a national deworming day in selected counties which are worms endemic seeks to ensure the beneficiaries are of good health to curb health related absenteeism.
“This year’s programme has been carried out in 22 counties across the country where there are high cases of worm infestation. Statistics indicate that one out of three children has worms,” said Mr. Bett.
The school head teacher, Raphael Wanyonyi, welcomed the initiative saying it will be of assistance to the pupils since most of them rarely carry out deworming exercises despite being exposed to factors stimulating the spread of worms.
“We have 376 pupils in this school who have all benefitted from this exercise. We have challenges with our infrastructure especially with the pit latrines which serves as breeding ground for the worms,” said Wanyonyi.
The National School Based Deworming Programme which has been in place for the past five years has treated 5.97 million children in over 16,000 schools across 27 endemic counties.
By Pauline Ikanda
