In order to maximize the efficiency of the National School Feeding Programme, 1.3 million children will receive deworming treatments in Honduras. The Deworming initiatives are in line with WFP objectives to ensure proper health and hygiene to school children nationally.
With the presense of the First Lady of Honduras, Ana de Hernàndez, WFP Reprentative Pasqualina Di Sirio, Lisandro Rosales Minister of Development and Social Inclusion, Minister of Health Yolani Batres and local authorities, launched the Deworming Campaign 2014 at the school Republica de Venezuela en Choloma, Cortés.
The aim of the National Deworming Campaign is to reduce the prevalence and intensity of intestinal parasites within public and private schools, through a cost-effective strategy that is sustainable over time. This campaign coupled with other initiatives of WFP and cooperating partners will improve their potential to live healthy and more active lives. Specifically, the implementation of this campaign is to improve the absorption of nutrients and promote health and hygiene through various participatory learning techniques.
The campaign functions under the motto “Let’s study happily without worms”. The goal is to assist 1,300,000 students’ ages 5-14 in 13,648 schools within the 18 Honduran Departments become parasites free.
This campaign is coordinated inter-institutionally through the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Healthy Schools Program / SEDIS, World Food Program and the Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization, PAHO / WHO.