By Michael Gwarisa
Children at St Peters Tokoyo primary school, about 25 Kilometers from Nyazura Growth point in Makoni District, Manicaland province, have braced the chilly weather to queue for the Bilharzia and Intestinal worms medications being administered under the nationwide Mass Drug Administration (MDA) program.
At Tokoyo Primary school and the nearby clinic, health workers from the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) are administering Praziquantel, treatment for Schistosomiasis or Bilharzia. According to a 2021 Community-Based Mapping, Makoni District has an double endemicity of Schistosomiasis and Soil–transmitted helminths (intestinal worms).
However, Tokoyo village and five other villages namely Musengewa, Murandu, Nyatsine, Choumhazi and Nyamutanda are endemic to only Schistosomiais.
Bilharzia or Schistosomiasis is an acute and chronic disease caused by parasitic worms.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), people are infected during routine agricultural, domestic, occupational and recreational activities which expose them to infested water.
On the other hand Intestinal worms or Soil-transmitted Helminths, are parasitic worms that live in the human intestines.
They spread through soil or water contaminated by human feces that contain the parasite larvae.
Darrel Makoni (10) is now doing Grade 3 at St Peters Tokoyo Priamry School.
He and his friends are waiting for their turn to get the tablets.
He vividly recalls some time back in 2022, when he was doing Grade 2.
He woke up one morning preparing to go to school.
As a routine, he uses the rest room before taking a bath everyday.
As he was passing out urine, he felt a burning sensation.
When he looked down, he noticed that his urine was blood-stained.
Darrel and his friends Queue to get their dose of Praziquantel during Mass Drug Administration
He rushed to tell his mother who wasted no time and took him to the Clinic nearby.
The nurses told his mother that he had Bilharzia or Schistosomiasis and he had treatment administered to him.
Unfortunately, Darrel had to spend two and a half weeks recovering from home.
He missed out on his studies which subsequently led to him not writing end of term examinations that year.
“I don’t want to experience the pain I experienced back then when I was diagnosed with Bilharzia. The blood in the urine was scary. I don’t want a repeat of that,” says young Darrel as he enters the classroom block where the administration of Praziquantel for Schitsosomiasis is taking place.
In 2022, Mass Drug Administration and several other districts in Manicaland province benefited from a MDA against Schistosomiasis and Soil Transmitted helminthiases.
Darrel and most children in the province received treatment against the disease.
The MDA program is being implemented by the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) through financial support from Higher Life Foundation and technical support from World Health Organisation (WHO).
The last Mass Drug Administration was conducted in Manicaland in 2022.
Meanwhile, at St Peters Tokoyo Primary school, absenteeism linked to Schistosomiasis has greatly reduced since the last MDA exercise in 2022. The school has an enrollment 550 students.
Mr Bonnie Tokoyo, the acting Deputy Head at St Peters Tokoyo said the MDA exercise was crucial as it has improved the learning and health outcomes of children at his school.
Mr Bonnie Tokoyo, the acting Deputy Head at St Peters Tokoyo says Mass Drug Administration is good and healthy exercise
“Recently, we haven’t had any case of Bilharzia at this school. We have noted that for effective learning to take place, the children have to be healthy. As long as children are not feeling well, they lose concentration and absenteeism increases. As a result it would affect learning. This exercise improves the health of the children, it improves the health of the children, it means academically, we have people whom we can really assist who are healthy,” said Mr Tokoyo.
