By Magnus Emuji
Delta State Government has said that it would continue to partner with any agencies whose interventions are in line with its policy direction for overall benefits of Deltans.
The State Commissioner for Primary Education, Dr. Kingsley Ashibogwu stated this in his office in Asaba when the Coordinator of the Neglected Tropical Disease programme of the Federal Ministry of Health, The Carter Center (TCC) and officials of the Delta State Primary Health Care Development Agency paid him a courtesy visit.
Dr. Ashibogwu commended the team for their collaboration in ensuring that heath care services was taken to a greater height in state especially in the primary school level.
He also expressed the Ministry’s commitment to collaborate with various healthcare agencies for effective health care delivery system for children of primary school age and beyond in the state.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary in Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Mr. Augustine Oghoro explained that The Carter Center has been carrying out its interventions in the state since 2003, adding that agencies had earlier requested the Ministry’s approval to enable them access primary school to carry out their programme from November 14 to December 5.
Oghoro , who noted that the collaboration with The Carter Center has been very cordial, urged them to inform the Ministry early enough the schools and the LGAs where they were going to carry out their assessment to enable the Ministry consider the approval of one or two days extension of the closing date for the affected pupils to participate in the exercise.
In their separate remarks, the representative of the Neglected Tropical Disease programme, Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs. Okoye Chinwe , Dr. Emukah Emmanuel of The Carter Center and Mr. Vincent Anighoro from the Delta State Primary Health Care Development Agency (DSPHDA) said that the task one assessment programme they were about to carry out in Delta State was only for pupils in primary 1 and 2.
They stated that the assessment would take place in 16 LGAs in the state and solicited the support of the Ministry in the area security and extension of closing date for schools to enable them conclude the assessment.
Mrs. Okoye and Dr. Emukah, who disclosed that the intervention was existing in Delta and Ekiti states, said that they have been treating individuals in various communities for over a period of 5 years.
While saying that the 16 LGAs were selected from the baseline assessment conducted in the 25 Local Government Areas in the state in 2005 and 2011 respectively, they stated that if there were any current infection among the children it was an indication that the treatment they were rendering was not effective.
