IRIN
AFGHANISTAN: Nationwide deworming campaign under way
14 September 2005


[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United 
Nations]

KABUL, 14 September (IRIN) - Around 9,000 trained teachers have been 
deployed across Afghanistan to distribute tablets to at least 6 million 
children in an effort to eradicate intestinal parasites, health 
authorities and United Nations agencies announced this week in the 
capital Kabul.

The health and education ministries, with support from the World Food 
Programme (WFP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the 
World Health Organization (WHO), launched the programme on Monday.

According to Ebadullah Ebadi, a WFP information officer, the joint 
UN-Afghan government programme will be implemented in 8,800 educational 
institutions across the country, including primary, religious and 
informal schools, as well as orphanages. Children not attending school 
will also be targeted in the campaign. Along with treatment, children 
will receive education on basic hygiene.

Intestinal parasites such as worms afflict a high percentage of Afghan 
children. Left untreated, worm infection cause a range of problems, 
including reduced growth, learning problems and illnesses such as 
dysentery and anemia. The condition can be easily eradicated with one 
500-mg tablet of Mebendazol, according to health experts.

"It is tragic that children in this country are suffering because of 
worms when they can be so easily treated," said Charles Vincent, head of 
the WFP in Afghanistan.

"This campaign is complex, as it aims to reach millions of children, 
many of them in remote areas and many of them not even at school. But 
with ministries taking the lead and UN agencies pooling their expertise 
and resources, we can make a big difference," he said.

According to the WFP, the massive deworming campaign in Afghanistan was 
prompted by a study carried out in 2003 which showed a prevalence of 
soil-transmitted worms among Afghanistan's primary school children, as 
well as shortcomings in their knowledge about hygiene.

The numbers of children targeted for deworming has gone up from 4.5 
million in 2004 to 6 million in 2005. The change is a combination of 
increased school enrolment and a revised estimate on the number of six- 
to 12-year-olds in Afghanistan.


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