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Rutendo Rori Marondera Correspondent
THE Ministry of Health and Child Care will today roll-out a mass drug administration campaign to eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) such as bilharzia, intestinal worms and elephantiasis. NTDs are communicable diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical countries.

The programme is being funded by the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and END FUND, a private initiative targeted at combating NTDs. In an interview last week, Mashonaland East provincial epidemiology and disease control officer Dr Paul Matsvimbo said they were focusing on eliminating soil-transmitted worms, bilharzia and elephantiasis.

“The rationale in giving medication is to break the transmission cycle of infections. For children, if we give them drugs, we are also preventing the effects of worms and reducing morbidity, which is a result of these diseases,” said Dr Matsvimbo. Since the diseases were endemic to the province, Dr Matsvimbo said, the campaign will be carried out in all the districts.

“We will be doing the Mass Drug Administration programme in all the districts in this province starting from Monday up to Sunday. For intestinal worms, we are targeting preschool-aged children from one to five years, and school-aged children from six to 15 years. For bilharzia, we target school aged groups from five to 15 years and for elephantiasis, we are targeting everyone from two years upwards,” he said. He also encouraged parents to feed their children and prepare them enough food before the drugs are administered on them.

“Children are urged to come after they have fed, and schools should also assist by making sure that every child have fed because they might experience slight side effects as soon as they get the medication. There have never been severe side effects that have been noted or reported, but people only experience slight side effects like dizziness, vomiting and headaches, so children should be monitored to check if there are immediate side effects.” Said Dr Matsvimbo: “This year, we are also going to be screening children for malnutrition and treat them appropriately. Children below the age of five are going to receive Vitamin A tablets.” The programme will be run in schools, clinics and hospitals.