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NNPC/Chevrons to deworm 60, 000 pupils in Ondo

By Oluwaseun Akingboye, Akure
30 September 2017   |   3:57 am
To further enhance reduce the incidence of malnutrition and improve the cognitive abilities of school children the country, NNPC/Chevron, in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has reiterated the need to embark on regular deworming exercise.

To further enhance reduce the incidence of malnutrition and improve the cognitive abilities of school children the country, NNPC/Chevron, in partnership with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has reiterated the need to embark on regular deworming exercise.

The company’s General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs (PGPA), Mr. Esimaje Brikinn, emphasized this on Thursday at the flag-off ceremony of the mass deworming exercise in Idanre Local Government Area of Ondo State.

Brikinn, who was represented by the PGPA Director, Senator Gbenga Aluko, disclosed that the exercise is one of the initiatives of NNPC/Chevron Joint Venture to enhance the health and development of the nation, especially the children.

“It is part of several health intervention programmes undertaken by the Joint Venture as parts of its contribution to the ongoing efforts at building a healthy nation.”

He lamented “the effects of worm infestation, especially on children of school age, have assumed such alarming dimensions that it requires concerted efforts from all stakeholders to fight the ailment.”

He revealed that 60,000 school pupils and children between ages six and 12 are targeted to be dewormed in three council areas, namely: Okitipupa, Owo and Idanre in Ondo.

According to him, the company embarked on the first phase in 2013 when 80, 000 children were dewormed in Akure, Ilaje, which also got a donation of X-ray machine recently; and one other councils.

Recounting the past efforts of the company, he also disclosed that Chevron had been using the strategic investment of the joint venture to add values to the live of the people in the country mostly in the war against the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The wife of Ondo State governor, Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, noted that deworming exercise must be done copiously with the availability of potable water and good sanitation in the books and crannies of the state.

Anyanwu-Akeredolu, who decried the prevalence of open defecation in the state, urged the teachers, parents and guardians to instil the habit of good sanitation and hand washing in the pupils.

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