The Adamawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency has announced plans to commence the third phase of its deworming exercise, targeting about 100,000 schoolchildren across the state.

Director of Community Health Services, Rashida Tahir, disclosed this during a media engagement meeting organised by the agency in Yola on Wednesday.

She said the exercise, scheduled to run from April 31 to June 4, aimed to reduce the prevalence of intestinal worm infections among the targeted population.

According to her, the campaign is part of the agency’s commitment to school health services and will cover 84 densely populated schools, four in each local government area.

Executive Chairman of the agency, Dr Suleiman Bashir, commended the media for its role in raising awareness and promoting acceptance of immunisation programmes across the state.

He noted that significant success was recorded during the recently concluded Immunisation Plus Days and assured the media of continued collaboration.

He added that media engagement had also been instrumental in addressing myths, misconceptions, and disinformation about immunisation.

Mr Bashir further highlighted that Adamawa had been a frontrunner in the payment of counterpart funding, attributing the progress to the political will of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri to improve healthcare in the state.

He also announced that the Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Week was scheduled to take place from May 31 to June 3, coinciding with the school-based deworming campaign across 226 wards.

Director of Disease Control and Immunisation, Dr Joseph Jacob, revealed that during the last immunisation campaign, 986 cases of non-compliance were recorded, out of which only five remained unresolved.

He emphasised that engaging the media would be crucial in addressing the root causes of non-compliance, noting that these included misinformation, cultural practices, and religious beliefs.

(NAN)