Deworming campaign reaches 120,000 Haitians

7 Apr 2009

Tatum Anderson

Source: International Action (see original article)

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Residents of the Haitian capital city Port-au-Prince have distributed doses of albendazole, a drug that combat worms, to more than 120,000 people, according to figures released last week.

The drugs have been supplied to people of all ages living in some of the poorest parts of the country since the beginning of the year. It is expected that around half a million people in the capital will have received the drug by the end of 2009.

The aim is to combat common intestinal worms which occur throughout Haiti. Indeed worms, such as hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms, are seen throughout the developing world.

The WHO estimates that around 2 billion people are currently infected with worms and of these, some 300 million suffer severe and permanent impairments including organ damage.

Importantly, worm infections cause anaemia, vitamin deficiencies, a weakened immune system, lethargy and poor physical growth, especially in children. That’s because worms eat up to 20% of a child’s nutritional in-take every day says Lindsay Mattison,
executive director of International Action, the US non-profit organization that is behind the campaign.

Worms have longer-term economic effects too, he says. Anaemia results in poor cognitive, poor intellectual development and impaired cognitive function because it affects children between the ages of five and 14 years. “These kids with distended bellies are not a good omen for a society,” he said.

The organization has distributed drugs for the last three months through a network of 40 so-called local water boards. These are groups of citizens that were established by International Action to help install equipment that cleans their local water supplies.

The boards ensure the equipment, chlorinators that are attached to water tanks, are maintained and regularly test the quality of water they produce. The NGO says this projected, called Campaign for Clean Water in Haiti, has brought clean water to 400,000 people so far.

But importantly the citizen boards have been keen to participate in other projects that could improve the health of their communities more, says Mattison. That’s why the albendazole project was created.

The boards are given drugs that have been supplied by another US non-profit organisation called Planting Peace. They then distribute packs of drugs to neighbours and schools. The distribution is monitored by both resident boards and International Action.

The project is still rather ad hoc, however.

Although he consulted organizations such as the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) before the project began, Mattison admits that he is unsure how often to repeat the course of drugs.

The plan is to create a medical board consisting of public health experts that will eventually help with the project. Mattison says he has consulted the Johns Hopkins School for Public Health for advice on this and other medical interventions that could be provided via the Haitian citizen boards.