Health: Learning more about sanitation

MEDDY MULISA in Bukoba

SECONDARY school students in Bukoba listen to proper sanitation for health that is taught in school too. (File photo)

COMMUNITY environmental management strategies are needed to control preventable diseases contracted through poor sanitation. Available data show that about 500 people die every year in Tanzania due to diseases which can be prevented.

As of November this year 27,554 people were reported to have contracted diarrhea infections where 432 of them died. The National Sample Census of Agriculture conducted during 2002/03 revealed that about 18,926 households equivalent to five per cent in Kagera Region had no toilet facilities.

The distribution of the households without toilets within the region shows that 45 percent of them were in Karagwe District, Biharamulo (29 per cent), Muleba (11 per cent), Bukoba Rural (9 per cent) and Ngara ( 6 per cent).

About 315,464 households, implying 90 per cent of all rural households use traditional pit latrines. About 6,795 households (2 per cent) use improved pit latrine while 11,963 households (3 per cent ) use flush toilets. The remaining 129 households (0.04 percent ) use other toilets facilities.

The Kagera Regional Commissioner (RC), Major Gen (rtd) Salum Kijuu appealed to people in his area to use toilets, in effort to control diarrhea. The government was keen to ensure that the disease was totally eradicated by 2020.

We all need to play our part including building toilets. As a nation we need to invest our resources on improving sanitation and hygiene to attain our national and global goals. Government now targets to ensure that every household and public institution have at least a toilet come 2021.

Over 400,000 pupils attending primary schools were administered with Albendazole and Praziquantel dose as precaution against Intestine Worms and Schistomiasis.

Acting Kagera Regional Health Development Officer, Gervase Ishengoma, noted thata survey conducted last year revealed that Intestine Worms Prevalence (IWP) among children aged between 5-15 years ranged between 20-80 per cent. In Biharamulo district the IWP survey was conducted at Kasozibakaya primary school ( 82 per cent prevalence) and Isambago primary school (60 per cent).

In Bukoba Municipality – two schools were sampled- Bunena (23 per cent) and Nyanga (31 per cent). In Ngara District the IWP covered Kumubuga primary school (71 per cent) and Mukibogoye primary school (17 per cent) while in Muleba District Rugasha primary school had 59 per cent prevalence and Kabingo primary school (38 per cent).

He assured parents that Albendazole and Praziquantel dose is safe and had been approved by WHO. Regular deworming will help children avoid the worst effects of infection even if there is no improvement in sanitation. School-age children typically have the highest intensity of worm infection of any age group.

In addition, the most cost effective way to deliver deworming pills regularly to children is through schools because schools offer a readily available, extensive and sustained infrastructure with a skilled workforce that is in close contact with the community.

With support from the local health system, teachers can deliver the drugs safely. Teachers need only a few hours training to understand the rationale for deworming, and to learn how to give out the pills and keep a record of their distribution.

Regular deworming contributes to good health and nutrition for children of school age, which in turn leads to increased enrollment and attendance, reduced class repetition, and increased educational attainment, he said.

The most disadvantaged children–such as girls and the poor– often suffer most from ill health and malnutrition, and gain the most benefit from deworming. The most commonly used drugs for the treatment of common intestinal worms are Albendazole (400 mg) or Mebendazole (500 mg). They are administered as a single tablet to all children, regardless of size or age.

Concerted efforts were needed to save thousands of children facing malnutrition and stunting. We must find a quick solution. The region had plenty of food. The only problem was to educate the public on the use of nutrients. Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD), remains a public health problem among young children in Tanzania.

Looking to curb the vice, the government devised a strategy to deliver Vitamin A Supplements to infants and children free of charge, twice a year. The exercise also involves deworming and examination of children’s nutrition status.

Vitamin A Supplements protect children from infections and eventually have a healthy nation. Vitamin A Supplements should be delivered to children within the 6-59 months category twice yearly, to ensure proper growth and development as well as boost their immunity. Vitamin A Deficiency can cause visual impairment in the form of night blindness.

It may also increase the risk of illness and death from childhood infections, including measles and those causing diarrhoea. Vitamin A is essential to support rapid growth and to help combat infections. Surveys show Vitamin A Supplements can reduce under five mortality by 23 per cent in every 100 childhood deaths.