School-based deworming programme in Sanliurfa, Turkey: changing from externally funding phase to self-sufficient...

In Sanliurfa, Turkey, externally funded temporary deworming activities have led to an internally funded self-sufficient programme in 2004-05 academic year. A total of 200,000 doses of mebendazole were distributed to schoolchildren, absentee children and small children and women through both schools and health centres. We interviewed 64 representative teachers, 82 administrative teachers, 112 schoolchildren and 108 parents using questionnaires, department interviews and focus groups discussions. We also collected 162 stool samples from third- and fourth-grade schoolchildren and examined them using the Kato-Katz technique. The evaluation of second year's of deworming program indicated that the programme's methodology of training representative teachers to play a major role in organizing the activities within schools and liaising with health staff was found to be successful by most of the teachers. The results showed that 85.2% of the women had benefited from the extended anthelmintic coverage. A total of 67.4% of them received the drugs from schools and 10.9% obtained them from health centres. The prevalence of helmintic infection had declined from 77 to 35% in shantytown schoolchildren and from 53 to 6.4% in apartment schoolchildren. The prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura decreased from 63.2 to 17% and from 16.8 to 1.1%, respectively, in schoolchildren. The results also indicated that 53.5% of the schoolchildren changed over to clean habits and began to use soap after using the toilet. The evaluation of the second year's deworming programme showed that the programme was sustainable and there was no risk of the programme being discontinued. Political commitment was obtained from the local business community, academic sector, the local governmental administrations and the city municipality. These organizations realized the programme's rapid and clear benefits and collaborated in a multipartners' programme. The cost of treatment per child was $0.05 and in total $11 000 was sufficient to implement a broad-range programme including education of children about cleanliness and treatment of infection to improve their health.