06 Mar 2022

 The Ministry of Health and Wellness in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) will run a Mass Drug Administration (MDA) of Praziquantel for Bilharzia to treat and reduce the burden and transmission of the disease. 

A press release from ministry says the campaign which targets school going children aged 5-14 years will run from beginning March 7 - 25, in some selected areas across the country. 

“The exercise will be conducted in Bobirwa, Chobe, Charleshill, Francistown, Ghanzi, Goodhope, Jwaneng, Kgalagadi North, Lobatse, Mabutsane, Mahalapye, Ngami, North-East, Okavango, Palapye, Selebi Phikwe, Serowe and Tutume,“ it says. 

The release further explains that the campaign follows a mapping survey for Soil Transmitted Helminthes and Bilharzia at selected schools in 2015 conducted by the ministry, which revealed that 39.8 per cent of school going children had Bilharzia. 

Soil Transmitted Helminthes and Bilharzia (Schistosomiasis) are a group of parasites in the group of diseases classified as Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD). 

The conditions commonly affect children and the poor in low and middle-income countries in the tropics and sub tropics. 

According to the statement, the exercise is also in line with WHO recommendations and the NTD roadmap of 2021-2030, which recommends that a district with a prevalence of Bilharzia above 20 per cent among school aged children, should conduct a mass drug administration for treatment as well as reducing the burden and transmission of the disease. 

“Approximately 120 million school age children are at risk of Bilharzia, globally and it has the potential to make them sick by affecting their physical and mental development as well as limit their ability to attend and perform well at school. It can further go on to limit their economic potential in adulthood,” says the media release. 

The ministry, therefore, urges parents in the respective villages to allow their children to take part in the exercise as it is vital for their health and that of the public. 

Furthermore, the ministry also advises that children should not be allowed to swim in rivers and other untreated water bodies, as these may put them at high risk of infection with Bilharzia. BOPA