Abia trains community volunteers as facilitators for school deworming programme

The Abia State Government has trained community volunteers as facilitators for the forthcoming Abia State in-school deworming exercise in both public and private schools in six selected local government areas of the state.

Ifeoma Thomas, special assistant on vulnerable groups and poverty alleviation, said the essence of the in-school deworming programme was to ensure those who are vulnerable and unreachable, especially in the rural areas of the state, were reached with the deworming programme.

She explained that the deworming exercise was a pilot programme for children in primary to junior secondary schools in six selected LGAs: Ohafia, Bende, Ikwuano, Isialangwa South, Obingwa, and Osisioma.

According to her, the Ministry of Health is capturing ages 0 to 5 in its deworming programmes, but the in-school deworming programme is capturing a unique demography of children aged 6 to 14 years.

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Thomas, who said that the government was dedicated to serving and uplifting vulnerable groups, including the internally displaced persons, the elderly, children, and those experiencing abject poverty and ensuring their voices are heard and their rights protected, thanked the wife of the Governor, Precilla Otti, for her concern on the vulnerable people and appreciated some partners including civil society organisations, donor agencies, SMOH, CARITORS, ANRIN, SOLINA, HSCL and HOPE SPRING for their collaborations.

Also speaking, the acting Executive Secretary, of Abia State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Gladys Ike said training was aimed at deepening the understanding of the trainees about deworming exercise. She said worm infestation is always common among children; hence, they are being targeted for the event. She said it was a way of helping humanity and urged them to listen carefully so that the training would be an impactful one.

The co-facilitators, Okorie Lawrence and Caroline Charles said the trainees would go into the LGAs as facilitators and train others, who would in turn go to schools to provide the deworming services. They advised the trainees to pay attention and take the training very seriously.

They said that the World Bank projects had concentrated on 0 to 5 years, while the Abia State government, through the In-School Deworming Programme, wanted to fill in the gap to ensure that every child in Abia was dewormed, adding that the programme was for children between 6 to 14 years of age.