Anokwuru Uche Alexis|10 May 2018
The Cross River State Government today flagged off a 3-day school based Deworming exercise in two schools, one Primary and one Secondary, in Akpabuyo LGA of the State. The exercise which is targeted at school aged children as a way of combating Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) in the State is going on simultaneously across all the schools in the 18 LGAs and 196 wards in the State, the State NTD Coordinator Dr. Tom Igbang revealed during his welcome address.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Inyang Asibong, in her response hinted that the State NTD indices has been on a downward slope in recent times as the State Government led by His Excellency, Sen. Prof Ben Ayade is championing the fight against NTD in the country. She also challenged the students to endeavor to spread the word and bring a friend each to partake in the exercise.
The Commissioner for Education, Hon. Godwin Etta however urged the students to shun drug use, cultism and other social vices as they are the fastest killers of dreams and young minds. He urged them to remain focused and committed in their academic pursuits.
The Commandant of Police Secondary School, Akpabuyo, ASP. George Onah thanked the State Government and Evidence Action for their consistency in driving the initiative, while Headteacher of the Jehovah Shalom African Primary School promised not to relent in inculcating sound moral and educational behavior into the kids.
Cross River State Government has reported remarkable achievements in tackling NTDs since taking a particularly aggressive stance in 2017 when the State Governor, His Excellency, Sen. (Prof.) Ben Ayade pledged his commitment towards elimination of NTDs in a High Level Stakeholders meeting at the World Health Organization HQ in Geneva. An estimated three thousand people have received treatment and antibiotics since 2015, however there's a need to scale up in Key Population Areas (KPA).
Anokwuru Uche Alexis
Writes from Calabar
