City launches 'Gubat batok Bitok'

The Cebu City government has launched its war against intestinal worms through the "Gubat batok Bitok", a deworming program that will be done simultaneously in all public elementary schools here.

This after a study conducted by the National Institute of Health of the University of the Philippines revealed that three out of four schoolchildren or at least 75 percent of public elementary school students in the city have intestinal worms.

Vicente Belizario, deputy director of NIH, said that the city government spent P2 million for the program for the almost 100,000 pupils in the city's public schools.

He said that the mass treatment will be sustained by the city in the next three to five years, and added that in their survey last July, they found out that about 68 percent of the pupils in two districts in the city have the said parasites.

Belizario explained that intestinal helminthes could be a cause of absenteeism and poor academic performance among students. Infection may also result to complications such as malnutrition, anemia, growth retardation, delayed motor activity and poor mental development.

"These worms come from waste of infected people. These children might also make poopoo somewhere for the lack of toilets, so I think the city government should also look into the toilet facilities in schools to prevent spread of infection," he said.

The mass deworming program will also be matched by a health education program and on hygiene with emphasis on proper hand washing, the wearing of footwear and environmental sanitation. - Jasmin R. Uy