Ho, May 18, GNA - A total of 473,352 children in public basic schools in the Volta Region are to be de-wormed by the end of May this year.

They are 106,047 in the kindergartens, 274,395 in primary schools and 92,910 in Junior High Schools.

Madam Janet Kwasi, Volta Regional School Health Coordinator, who disclosed these to the media in Ho on Monday, the children would each be given a tablet of Mebendazole 500 mg. She said the exercise, the second in three years after the first one in February 2007, was to ensure good health and increase school attendance among pupils in the region.

Madam Kwasi observed that many pupils absented themselves from school because of ill-health mostly caused by worm infestation. She said children as the nation's future leaders needed to be healthy, regular at school and be of sound mind. Madam Kwasi said measures have been instituted to ensure the success of the exercise and called on parents and other stakeholders to support it. She said teachers have been trained to assist officials of the Health Service to administer the drugs.