Nkoranza (B/A), July 18, GNA - Mr. Kwabena Agyemang-Badu, Nkoranza District Director of Education, has appealed to assembly and unit committee members, traditional and religious authorities to support teachers in de-worming children.

Mr. Agyemang-Badu was addressing more than 200 head teachers at a meeting at Nkoranza to educate them on the need for them to encourage parents to support the on-going exercise. He recounted how some parents rushed to schools during the previous de-worming exercise and gave palm oil to their children after they were given the mebendazole 500 mg tablet with the intention of reducing its potency as they feared their children would die.

Mr. Agyemang-Badu called on stakeholders to help in the education programme about the exercise so that parents would not hide their children in homes, thus preventing them from being dewormed. He commended the government for initiating the exercise to enhance the growth of the children.

Mrs. Eva Saku, District Public Health Nurse, said when children were regularly de-wormed they would become more active and grow better. She said anaemia, cough, malaria, diarrhoea and nausea among children were often caused by worms and called on parents to ensure that their children took the de-worming tablets.

Mr. Kwasi Djan, district coordinator in-charge of school health education programme, said more than 37,441 children from public kindergartens to junior high schools in Nkoranza North and Nkoranza South districts were expected to be covered under the exercise.