The fight against worm infestation has received a major boost on Friday September 22 as the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana announced a major collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceuticals of Johnson & Johnson, Ghana Branch, which will see a joint effort at eradicating worm infestation among school children in Ghana. This was launched by the President of the Ghana Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, Pharm. Benjamin Kwame Botwe, at the launch of this year’s World Pharmacists Day.

As part of the partnership, an initial drawing and poetry competition in a selected cluster of schools in the Capital, Accra, has been designed to educate children on the dangers of worm infestation and the need for good sanitation and hygiene practices. This forms part of Janssen’s commitment to advance public health in Ghana.

The overall campaign targets about 10,000 children between the ages of 6 and 12 across all 10 regions of Ghana. The winners of the competition will be chosen by a panel of judges, made up of pharmacists and teachers, receiving various educational materials as prizes.

Commenting on the partnership, the Ghana Country Manager of Janssen, Priscilla Owusu Sekyere said: “Following our successful partnership last year with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana and the Ghana Education Service, we want to continue working together to help teach primary school children about the dangers of poor sanitation and the importance of effective hand-washing. “This drawing competition, which will start from the Greater Accra Region, will not only encourage the children, through their engagement with each other to pass on the information, we hope it will also help ensure that worm infestations quickly become a thing of the past”.

On his part, the President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, Pharm. Benjamin Kwame Botwe, applauded Pharmacists for their role in the health delivery system in Ghana. He called on Government to continue to support the efforts of the Society by improving working conditions of Pharmacists in the country. “The PSGH holds this unique partnership with Janssen Pharmaceuticals of Johnson & Johnson, Ghana in very high esteem and wishes that it is broadened to other areas of cooperation to better serve the people of Ghana. As we pledge our support to this cause, we call on government and other stakeholders to equally support the Society in the delivery of such social interventions”, he said.

Speaking at the launch, the Minister of Health, Hon. Kwaku Agyemang Manu, in a speech read on his behalf, said “This innovative model of collaboration and local empowerment between Janssen, Ghanaian pharmacists and our school children has already seen positive results, and this latest activity is a new opportunity to educate our children. This unified effort will take us one step closer to wiping out preventable worm infestations in Ghana.”

Diseases from parasites and worm infestations, such as guinea-worm, schistosomiasis, helminthiasis and other Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), impose a heavy burden on the population and healthcare services as they affect over 500million people living in Ghana and other Sub—Saharan African (SSA) countries. NTDs have a serious impact on school attendance rates, childhood growth and cognitive development, leading to high levels of disability and lost productivity.

In order to combat NTDs, The World Health Organization has recommended interventions including a focus on improving environmental factors such as clean water, sanitation and hygiene. It is against this background that the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana sees this partnership as crucial.

This year’s world Pharmacists Day is being celebrated under the theme: “From research to health care: Your pharmacist is at your service”. The day is celebrated around the globe to highlight the value of the pharmacy profession and impact on improving health to authorities, other professions and the media, as well as to the general public.