Kigali, 20 October 2015 - The WHO Country Office in Rwanda, through its continuous support to the Ministry of Health, has donated 6 355 000 albendazole tablets to support the upcoming deworming campaign against soil transmitted helminthiasis.

The countrywide campaign will take place in local communities and schools at the end October 2015, and will be integrated in the regular Mother and Child Health Week which is organised twice a year.
Soil-transmitted helminth is one of the most common infections worldwide, affecting more than 1.5 billion people, or 24% of the world’s population. Heavy worm infection is associated with malnutrition, poor growth, and anaemia in children.

Caused by different species of parasitic worms, the infection is transmitted by eggs present in human faeces, which in turn contaminate soil in areas where sanitation is poor. The infection can then be easily caught when children play in the contaminated soil and then put their hands in their mouths without washing them. In addition, people can become infected with hookworm primarily by walking barefoot on the contaminated soil.

WHO also donated Ebola protective equipment to the Emergency Department of the Rwanda Biomedical Center, Ministry of Health. The materials were composed of 100 personal protective equipment kits which include coveralls, face masks, gloves and boots, and hygiene spraying materials. This equipment was provided by WHO as part of the pre-positioning strategy in case of an Ebola outbreak.

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Below:

01 Ministry of Health Warehouse

02 Handover of Ebola protective materials to the Ministry of Health

03 Handover of Albendazole by DPC and HPR WHO to the Ministry of Health Representative