MPs pass motion on deworming of school-going children
Kiambu MP Machua Waithaka dances with pupils from Mungai Chengecha Primary School in his constituency.
Members of Parliament on Wednesday (23 August) morning passed a motion to have school children dewormed by the Ministry of Health as part of improving their overall health.
The motion, sponsored by Kiambu MP Machua Waithaka, wants the government through the Ministry of Health to develop a national policy on deworming of school-going children as a way of mainstreaming access to quality healthcare in the country.
In the motion, which received overwhelming support from MPs, Mr Waithaka pointed out that good health care plays an important role in school attendance rates.
"The negative effects of poor sanitation such as parasite infestation, especially among school-going children, leading to anaemia, stunted growth and other salient problems, leads to low school attendance and impacts on educational standards," reads the motion.
Mr Waithaka says in the motion that deworming would result in healthier children with the potential to perform well in school.
"Research shows that school-based deworming of children has a wide range of educational and social benefits, such as increased school attendance and healthier children who perform better in school, and it is a low-cost approach that uses existing school structures to administer deworming to primary school children," Mr Waithaka said.
During the debate, lawmakers were concerned that across the country, children are exposed to the effects of poor sanitation such as parasite infestation, which leads to anaemia, stunted growth and other salient problems that further lead to low school attendance and affect educational standards.
Mr Waithaka told the Nation that he was prompted to table the motion after he visited a school in his constituency and found that most of the children had ringworms.
"I saw a child with some white, round things on his head and on closer examination I realised that they were indeed these ringworms. I asked the head teacher how many children had the same problem and in a class of 48 pupils, 28 had the same problem," said Mr Waithaka.
He said that by carrying out the deworming programme, the country would be raising healthy children with a bright future.
"A healthy population is a productive nation and so I would like to urge the ministry that while they are doing the vaccination exercise, they should also do the deworming of our children," Mr Waithaka said.
He pointed out that the disease may look embarrassing to some people, but it is a serious problem that society should not turn a blind eye to.
"I know that my political opponents in the constituency are trying to use this motion in a negative way by saying that I have embarrassed the children of Kiambu by saying that they have worms, but I'm confident that I am helping a young generation to grow up healthy," said Mr Waithaka.
He says he plans to turn the motion into a Bill when the House resumes.
