Kaduna targets 1m children in snail fever treatment campaign

Treatment will be guided by World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations, based on the level of endemicity in each ward.

The Kaduna State Ministry of Health, with support from Sightsavers, has commenced preparations for a mass treatment campaign targeting over one million children against schistosomiasis, a Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD), contracted from infected freshwater.

The preparations began with a two-day stakeholders’ planning meeting on schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, held in Kaduna on Tuesday. Speaking during the meeting, the State Coordinator for NTDs, Zainab Haruna, stated that the programme was designed to protect children who are most vulnerable to the disease and often lack access to treatment.

“Our target is to treat school-aged children from five to 14 years, as they are young and do not have access to medicines or the means to obtain treatment,” she said.

According to Ms Haruna, the intervention will be implemented across all 23 local government areas of the state, focusing only on wards identified as endemic. She explained that treatment will be guided by World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations, based on the level of endemicity in each ward.

“Low-endemic wards are treated once every three years, moderate-endemic wards are treated annually, while highly-endemic wards receive treatment twice a year. There are fewer than five wards classified as highly endemic in the state,” she said.

Ms Haruna added that the state will deploy a team of seven to eight officials at the state level, supported by 23 state supervisors and local government NTD coordinators to oversee implementation.

Furthermore, 169 health workers will be trained across 169 endemic wards, while 6,064 Community Drug Distributors (CDDs) will be mobilised to distribute Praziquantel, the drug used in treating schistosomiasis.

Challenges

The coordinator identified inadequate incentives for community drug distributors as a major challenge facing NTD interventions in the state.

Similarly, the Senior Programme Officer for NTDs at Sightsavers, Tabitha Kane, said the organisation’s support extends beyond funding to include technical and operational assistance throughout the campaign.

Ms Kane noted that the organisation works closely with the Kaduna State Ministry of Health from the planning stage through to implementation and monitoring to ensure adherence to established standards.

“We organise and support technical training for health personnel and programme implementers,” she said. “This includes training individuals who will, in turn, train others at lower levels, as well as those directly responsible for distributing medicines in schools and communities.”

According to her, the training equips participants with knowledge of treatment guidelines, drug administration procedures, reporting requirements, and community engagement strategies.

Speaking on behalf of the Director of Disease Control and Immunisation, Hamza Ibrahim, Zuwaira Abbas from the state primary healthcare board noted that insecurity in some communities had previously hindered access to vulnerable populations. She stated that the board has implemented measures to improve access through collaboration with local security personnel.

“Some areas could not be accessed by our teams due to security challenges. This time around, proper planning has been done during the micro-planning process. We have developed localised action plans and will involve security personnel within the implementing communities to support our teams during the distribution exercise,” she said.

Mr Ibrahim also identified delays in the distribution of vaccines and other medical commodities as a significant challenge during previous exercises. He noted that efforts are underway to ensure the timely delivery of supplies from the Federal Ministry of Health to health facilities and communities across the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by parasitic worms and is commonly transmitted through contact with contaminated freshwater. The disease remains a public health concern in many endemic communities, particularly among school-aged children.

(NAN)