Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL)
on Wednesday provided some 41,000 doses of anti-worm drugs in support of
ongoing massive de-worming of children in Bayelsa Primary Schools.
Speaking at the event, Mr
Esimaje Brikinn, General Manager in charge of Government and Public Affairs at CNL
stated that the progamme is aimed at ridding children of worms
Brikinn,
who was represented by Mr Kayode Adeboye, Communications
Coordinator CNL said the de-worming exercise was targeted at children between ages six and 12.
He noted
that the campaign was part of Chevron’s commitment to support to health care in
its operational areas and recalled that the oil firm recently concluded a
progamme to prevent HIV transmission.
“We are proud of the tremendous
successes recorded through our partnership with the Bayelsa State Government in
past health programmes.
“These programmes, no doubt, were
because of our collective commitment to improving healthcare delivery and by
extension the quality of life of the people of Bayelsa State and the Niger
Delta.
“Some of us here would recall
that between 2012 and 2018, Chevron, in collaboration with PACT and the Bayelsa
State Government, sponsored a US$5.3 million Prevention of Mother to Child
Transmission of HIV (PROMOT) programme.
“The programme helped reduce the
HIV prevalence rates in Bayelsa state and tested over 57,000 pregnant women.
“We have also partnered with the
Bayelsa State Governor on roll back malaria programme in times past.We are very
proud to be partners in progress with Bayelsa State Government,” he said.
He said CNL embarked on the
programme because the effect of worm infestation, especially on children of
school age, have assumed such alarming dimensions that it requires efforts from
all stakeholders to fight the ailment.
He noted World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that;
“More than 1.5 billion people, or 24% of
the world’s population, are infected with soil-transmitted helminth(parasitic
worms) infections worldwide. Infections
are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas, with the greatest
numbers occurring in sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, China and East Asia.”
Mrs Hannah Amasuomo,
Director Primary/Teacher Education who represented the Commissioner for Education. Mr Jonathan Obuebite commended NNPC/Chevron Joint Venture for
partnering with the state to deworm school children.
She equally thanked the
Headmasters and Headmistress as well as the Teachers who accompanied the
children from various schools.
She appealed to Chevron
and its partners to make deworming a
sustainable and continuous programme in the state.
Mr Robert Derek, an official of Bayelsa Ministry of Health in his health sensitization harped on the need for
proper personal hygiene as a gateway to a healthy life.
He said: “Worms deprive young children of the
necessary nutrients which they require for mental and physical development.
“Worm infestation can
cause opportunistic sickness and even mortality in children”
He promised that the
state would soon embark on immunization against polio among young children.
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