To stop the spread of schistosomiasis in the Federal Capital Territory, the Federal Ministry of Health issued a warning on Tuesday against diverting medication intended for schoolchildren’s deworming.

The warning was given during the FCT 2022 Annual School Deworming Exercise in Abuja by Dr. Obiageli Nebe, Director and Program Manager of the National Deworming Program, FMoH.

Nebe stated that the medications were intended to treat schistosomiasis, a condition brought on by freshwater parasitic worms.

She continued by saying that Gwagwalada Area Council had the greatest burden of the endemic sickness in the Federal Capital Territory.

Therefore, the program manager emphasized the necessity of traditional, religious, and School Based Management Committees (SBMC) to supervise the administration of drugs against diversion and urge children to get them.

“They have a significant role to play beyond energizing and raising awareness in their local areas. They also have the responsibility of keeping an eye out to make sure the targeted children receive the deworming medicines.

She stated, “They should keep an eye on and make sure that these drugs are delivered to their various communities and schools, that we don’t lose any of these drugs to people who might like to sell them.”

She stated that the ministry will collaborate with law enforcement and the judiciary to guarantee that anyone found selling or transferring drugs is apprehended and dealt with legally.

If any of these donated medications leak, there will be consequences. The police will be involved, and the offenders will be detained and brought before the court,” she declared.

She also gave the stakeholders the responsibility of making sure they keep an eye on the national school feeding programs and make sure the vendors are providing the kids with wholesome food.

More than 54,000 schools around the country are taking part in the initiative, according to Dr. Johnson Onyemah, Consultant on School Feeding, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development.

Onyemah continued, saying that the school food program was helping more than nine million students in primary one through three.

According to him, the school feeding program aims to lower the rate of malnutrition, promote school attendance, and develop a variety of agricultural and job prospects in the surrounding areas.

The purpose of the meeting, according to Dr. Sadiq Abdrahman, Director of the Public Health Department, was to get cooperation, support, and active engagement from all parties involved in order to make sure the exercise was successful.

Abdrahman thus urged participants to make sure the medications reach the intended recipients, on behalf of Dr. Eunice Ogundipe, Head of the department’s Neglected Tropical Diseases Unit.

“Through timely and adequate dissemination of information to FCT residents, we seek stakeholders’ support, cooperation, collaboration, and active participation in ensuring the success of the upcoming school deworming program,” he stated.

Speaking in the FCT, Dr. Ibrahim Yusuf, Sarkin Yakin Adinni, and Chairman SBMC emphasized the necessity of working with traditional leaders to make sure the exercise is successful.