A new partnership signed today by the Ministry of Health is aimed at reducing Soil Transmitted Helminthes (STH) infections around the country.
The Health Minister Dr Neil Sharma signed the partnership on behalf of the Fijian Government with the College of Medicine Seoul National University.
This development will allow health authorities to take control of this form of communicable disease; often prevalent amongst communities with poor sanitation.
While explaining the causes and symptoms of this infection, Minister Sharma said that this new development with the University will position health authorities to effectively address the infection.
“Soil Transmitted Helminthes is a group of intestinal parasitic diseases that occur commonly in our population caused by intestinal roundworms such as hookworms, ascaris and whipworm. Anaemia, vitamin A deficiency, poor intellectual development and stunted growth are all associated with chronic STH,” Dr Sharma said.
“I am quite positive that our collaboration will assist the Ministry of Health to achieve its strategic health goals in reducing the prevalence of Anaemia and improving the health of our school age children.”
The Ministry’s ‘Fiji Centre for Communicable Disease Control’ at Mataika House will be the focal institution for this collaboration. As well, the first stage of this project saw the commission of a parasitology lab at Mataika house, the provision of equipment such as microscopes and lab testing consumables and initial training from the Seoul National University on the use of these equipment.
Dr Sharma said this new partnership will build local capacity and reduce the burden of STH infections on vulnerable reach communities.
Fiji had already started significant work on the control of STH through the anti-Filariasis campaign and the National Iron and Micronutrient Supplementation (NIMS) program with mass drug administration initiatives.
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