Calabar, March 11, 2026 (NAN) The Government of Cross River has targeted 400,000 children, between the ages of five and 14, in its 2026 mass treatment campaign for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) across selected local government areas.
Mr Tochi Ohaji, Senior Manager at Evidence Action, a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) and the implementing partner of the programme in the state, made the remark while speaking with newsmen in Calabar.
Ohaji said the initiative aligned with Nigeria’s plan to eliminate NTDs by 2030, adding that their intervention focused on treating soil-transmitted helminthiasis and schistosomiasis among the school-aged children.
He said an impact assessment conducted with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMH) showed a significant progress in the control of both diseases in Cross River.
“Prevalence of soil-transmitted helminthiasis dropped by 48.5 percent, while schistosomiasis reduced by 76 percent after over seven years of sustained intervention.
“The current administration in the state has demonstrated commitment by approving N64 million to sustain the state’s deworming and disease elimination programmes.
“Health workers have been trained to administer medicines in schools and communities across participating local government areas,” he said.
Speaking further, Ohaji stated that the exercise would run for five days, beginning on Wednesday, with trained teams visiting schools to administer treatment to eligible children.
He urged parents, school authorities and community leaders to support the campaign to ensure all eligible children receive the medicines.
‘’The programme targets 14 of the state’s 18 Local Government Areas where disease prevalence qualifies communities for mass drug administration.’’
Ohaji added that seven local government areas would participate in the current phase, while others would be covered in subsequent rounds.
Also speaking, Mr Jacob Solomon, programme officer for schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis elimination, in FMH, highlighted concerns about declining donor funding.
Solomon said global partners were beginning to experience donor fatigue, making it necessary for governments to increase domestic funding for neglected tropical disease programmes.
He urged state governments to establish dedicated budget lines for disease elimination activities and ensure that funds were released when appropriated.
He said a stronger domestic funding would help sustain deworming programmes and protect gains already achieved across endemic states.
“While states own the programmes, the federal government supervises implementation to guarantee effective delivery and progress toward disease elimination,’’ Solomon said.
On her part, Ms Veronica Mark, Cross River Coordinator for NTDs, said seven council areas would be benefitting from the initial exercise in 2026 and they include Calabar Municipality, Calabar South, and Odukpani.
Mark said others include Biase, Akamkpa, Yakurr and Etung, adding that the state government has made plans to reach children even in the hard-to-reach areas to ensure that they are dewormed. (NAN)
