Kogi govt, Sightsavers target 550,000 children in 10 LGAs for 2026 deworming, river blindness campaign

The Kogi State Ministry of Health, Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Control Programme, in collaboration with Sightsavers, has concluded a 2-day planning meeting for the 2026 Mass Administration of Medicines (MAM) for Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH) and Onchocerciasis (ONCHO).

Adewale Ayodeji of the Federal Ministry of Health said the FMoH is supporting state NTDs programmes to accelerate the elimination of NTDs through preventive chemotherapy, case management, disease surveillance and morbidity management, adding that the Federal government is strengthening health systems with technical assistance, capacity building, supportive supervision and improved monitoring to ensure efficient use of resources and better health outcomes.

The goal, he said, is to reduce the burden of NTDs and contribute to Universal Health Coverage and the SDGs.

Musa Momohjimoh, Kogi State NTD coordinator, said the meeting was to prepare for preventive chemotherapy where about 550,000 children aged 5 to 14 years will receive Albendazole 400mg tablets in 10 endemic LGAs.

He said: “This is a state -level planning meeting. Six weeks ago, we treated about 480,000 children in 15 LGAs. Now we are preparing for another round.

“The 10 local government areas for this round are Omala, Ankpa, Idah, Kogi, Lokoja, Mopa-Muro, Ijumu, Ajaokuta, Okehi and Ogori-Magongo”.

Momohjimoh said LGAs will train health workers and Community Drug Distributors, CDDs, after the meeting, and expressed optimism that by the end of July, every eligible child in the targeted LGAs would be treated, just as he commended Kogi State government and Sightsavers for supporting the fight against NTDs and urged participants to cascade training to ensure children grow up healthy and free from preventable diseases.

Betsy Ibenu, state NTD Data manager, said the meeting aimed to develop strategies to meet 2026 targets, strengthen coordination and agree on monitoring mechanisms, adding that STH are parasitic worms that cause malnutrition and stunted growth, while ONCHO, or river blindness, is endemic in all 21 local government areas of Kogi.

She said the WHO recommends MAM using Albendazole and Mebendazole, targeting at least 75 percent of school-age children.

Stakeholders identified challenges from the last MAM, including absence of community registers, wrong dosing, poor documentation, data integrity issues, drug refusal due to fear of side effects, and limited capacity in digital tools.

Representatives of CAN and JNI reaffirmed their commitment to support the exercise across the LGAs.