DOH to hold media forum on NSDD in Pagadian City

• Source:http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1431452513175/doh-to-hold-media-forum-on-nsdd-in-pagadian-city
• Tuesday, January 12, 2016

By Franklin P. Gumapon (FPG/PIA9)

PAGADIAN CITY, Jan. 12 (PIA) – To encourage public participation and support to the National School Deworming Day (NSDD) on Jan. 27, 2016, the Department of Health (DOH)-9 is slated to hold a media forum at Mardale Hotel here come Jan. 14 at 9 a.m.

Radio, print and TV media practitioners based in the city and the province of Zamboanga del Sur are invited to attend the said forum to apprise them of the importance and benefits the NSDD gives the schoolchildren.

The DOH has tapped the support of the local press to drum up public awareness on the NSDD, which aims to deworm the students enrolled in public schools from Grades 1 to 7.

It could be recalled that DOH-9 had missed to realize its deworming target of more than 70 percent in the July 2015 NSDD, as many of the schoolchildren were rushed to the health centers and hospitals due to dizziness and abdominal pain after taking the deworming tablets.

Abdominal pain, vomiting and dizziness are said to be normal symptoms associated with deworming.

To avoid a repeat of last year’s hullaballoo about the deworming activity, this time the DOH is intensifying its information campaign with partner-agencies, media and other stakeholders.

Intestinal parasites such as roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) and hookworms (Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale) are soil-transmitted and they can cause poor physical growth, poor intellectual development in children and can result in anemia and malnutrition not only among children but also among women of childbearing age.

Health Secretary Janette P. Loreto-Garin, on the other hand, has acknowledged that the success of the NSDD relies on the support and actions of the partner-agencies, non-government organizations (NGOs), development partners and local government units (LGUs).