The Solution

For just pennies per treatment, deworming pills administered through school programs can improve health and increase attendance.

School-based deworming is a safe, simple and cost-effective solution. With more schools than clinics, and more teachers than health workers, the existing and extensive education infrastructure provides the most efficient way to reach the highest number of school-age children. With support from the local health system, teachers can administer treatment to large numbers of school-age children with minimal training.

Regular deworming contributes to good health and nutrition for school-age children, which in turn leads to increased enrollment and attendance, reduced class repetition, and increased educational attainment. The most disadvantaged children often suffer the most from poor health and malnutrition, and stand the most to gain from deworming.

In pursuit of Education for All and the Millennium Development Goals, Ministries of Education and other development partners have now made deworming an education policy priority. The overwhelming effects of school-based deworming are a crucial step towards achieving universal global education.