Gearing up to deworm over a half a million children for a safe and healthy future: Secretary Health.

KARACHI -- The Secretary of Health, Zahid Ali Abbassi, launched the Sindh Deworming Initiative's first mass deworming campaign in Karachi. The school-based deworming program aims to treat over 500,000 school-age children in 2,600 select government and private schools, as well as in 145 health facilities across the six districts of Karachi on 29th January 2020. All children enrolled in classes 1-10 will be encouraged to access treatment at a nearby school or any health facility displaying a banner on deworming day, as well as out-of-school children aged 5 -14 years.

The treatment will be provided free of charge. Zahid Ali Abbassi, the chief guest of launch event, remarked that 'annual mass deworming is very important for our children, as it will ensure their improved physical and cognitive growth, resistance to other infections and improved school performance. Moreover, mass deworming is in direct support of and positively impacts Pakistan's progression toward achieving Sustainable Development Goals as well as the Government of Pakistan's top health priorities, reducing under nutrition and anemia. Deworming is a quick, easy, and safe measure to better the health and future of our children!' Additional Commissioner - II Karachi Dr.Waqas, Secretary Health Zahid Ali Abbasi, Director Schools Sindh Education and Literacy Department, attended the launch and urged parents and guardians to send their children to the nearest government, private school or health facility displaying a banner on 29th January. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that nearly 1 in 4 of the world's population, are infected globally with intestinal worms, also known as soil-transmitted helminths, with over 835 million children in need of treatment. These infections result from poor sanitation and hygiene conditions and tend to have the highest prevalence in school-age children.

A national survey conducted in 2016 found that approximately 17 million school-age children across Pakistan, including approximately 4.6 million children in Sindh, are in need of regular...