Editorial

Deworming campaign

The campaign is covering around 2,000 government and private schools as well as seminaries

August 31, 2021

Around 17 million children, between infancy and age 16, suffer from intestinal worms in Pakistan. These worms are also known as intestinal parasites. Like many other diseases, insanitary conditions, lack of proper hygiene habits and unclean surroundings produce intestinal worms causing dysentery, vomiting, indigestion and passing of blood in stool, resulting in stunting and anaemia. These troubles weaken the victims’ immune system making them vulnerable to different kinds of infections. All this affects the physical and mental development of children. In order to protect children’s health, the federal and provincial governments have been undertaking periodic deworming campaigns, for the past several years, in various parts of the country. A six-day deworming drive has been launched in Islamabad during which 600,000 school students and out-of-school children suffering from stomach worms are to be provided medicines and other required treatment. The campaign is covering around 2,000 government and private schools as well as seminaries.

This is treating the disease after it has set in. What is more important is to take preventive measures. These involve ensuring sanitation and inculcation of good hygiene practices among both children and adults. People should keep themselves clean and make sure to wash hands before eating. Food items should be properly washed before cooking as parasites transmit themselves into food items from the earth in the fields. Vendors of uncooked and cooked eatables should protect them from getting exposed to germs. Garbage should be lifted properly to keep surroundings clean. Regular spray of disinfectants to kill harmful insects is also essential. It is of utmost importance to end the germs and fleas at the source. Many in Third World countries disregard personal hygiene and are indifferent to below-par clean surroundings. We need to cultivate a taste for cleanliness and order. At present, we convince ourselves that our surroundings are clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 31^st, 2021.

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