The Department of Health targets to deworm a total of 19 million children in public schools this January.
MANILA — Paleness, sleepiness, tiredness and bloating are some of the common symptoms of children with intestinal parasites in their stomachs.
With this, the Department of Health (DOH) reminds the importance of deworming children to maintain their good health.
“Important benefits of deworming is actually in terms of the nutrition of the child. So, there is better absorption of the nutrients and therefore the overall health and well-being of the child is greatly improved. The resistance to infection and illnesses is improved as well as the mental capacities,” Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial explained.
Since January is the National School Deworming Month, DOH encourages parents, teachers, and local government units to support the department’s ‘Oplan Goodbye Bulate‘.
DOH targets to deworm children aged 5 to 18 years old in public schools.
“The program aims to deworm approximately 19 million school-aged children enrolled in public schools (kindergarten to K-12) and at least 23 million pre-school and school-aged children not enrolled in public schools,” said Sec. Ubial.
The public may also avail of the free deworming services in health centers, rural health units, and barangay health stations nationwide.
A child just needs to take one purgative tablet to flush out the worms inside his or her intestine in just 24 hours.
Children who have undergone deworming will experience a minimal side effect like nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
The World Health Organization, meanwhile, assures that the medicine for deworming is safe to take.
“We are concerned in particular about the impact of this infection on children,” said Dr. Gundo Weiler of World Health Organization. “We have an easy intervention to take 1 pill per child twice a year and we have safe drugs. The safety has been proven hundreds of millions of times around the world of this medicine.”
DOH calls on parents to have their children undergo deworming especially those aged 10 and below to avoid illnesses. — Aiko Miguel | UNTV News & Rescue
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