In a bid to improve on the health conditions of his constituents, the Member of Parliament for Buem in the Oti region, Kofi Adams has teamed up with pharmaceutical company, Dannex- Aryton- Starwin (DAS) PLC and the Jasikan District Health Directorate for a three-day deworming exercise in the district.
The program, which ended on November 14, 2021, covered over eleven thousand people in Buem.
Beneficiary communities included Attakrom ,Okadjakrom, Hausa Zongo, Baglo, New Ayoma, Teteman (hometown of Mr Adams ), Bodada among others, as well as students in all Senior High Schools within the Jasikan District.
Mr Adams who once held the position of spokesperson to late President, Jerry John Rawlings explained that apart from having the wellbeing of his constituents at heart, he wanted to embark on the project in remembrance of his former boss.
‘’ First of all, the health of my constituents means a lot to me and I chose the 12th of November to start the deworming exercise because, it marks exactly a year Mr Rawlings died and I personally wanted this done on this day to honour him. Again, not everyone can afford a deworming tablet even though it is cheap, so I decided to collaborate with DAS PLC and the Jasikan District Health Directorate for this exercise and it’s my desire to sustain it‘’.
The World Health Organisation puts the number of people infected with soil-transmitted helminths globally, at approximately 1.5 billion. Roundworm is the most prevalent soil-transmitted helminths infection in pre-school children and causes poor absorption in Vitamin A which can exacerbate malnutrition
The Jasikan Health Directorate which provided education on how the drug should be administered expressed worry over the rate of worm infestation in the district. The Acting Director, Health Services, Jasikan District, Isaac Annobil said, ‘’When you look at the list of our top ten diseases as a district, worm infestation falls within that category. So when we were informed about this exercise, we quickly mobilised forty -six health workers from different communities to come on board’’.
Speaking to the media after the end of the free deworming exercise, the Marketing manager of DAS PLC, Kwame Ampong Asomaning said he was excited that his outfit was able to do its part to improve upon the health of Buem residents.
“ It’s really encouraging to see such an exercise reach so many people and we hope to come here again to do more ‘’, Mr Ampong stated.
Dannex Aryton- Starwin PLC supported the deworming exercise with ten thousand of its Menazole dewormer product.
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