Patmos Cottage School Healthcare Program 2024
On Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29th February, 2024 Doctor Daniel Okal Busela (Dr. Dan), assisted by two of his nurses, carried out health checks on 213 children from Patmos Cottage School from the PP1 class through to the Grade 8 class. The children also received de-worming preparations and multivitamin supplements. This was the first of the bi-annual health checks that are provided each year for the children under the School Healthcare Program (SHP). Some children were found to be suffering from fungal infections and intestinal worm infections, including hookworm, whipworm and roundworm and they received treatment for those conditions.
Dr. Daniel Busela has been supporting the school for the past eleven years and under the School Health Program (SHP) he has provided the children with half yearly health checks, de-worming treatments and oral vitamin supplements.
His small medical clinic has been serving the people of Mathare for over 20 years and he is a well- respected member of the community. Most clinics in Mathare are only open for limited periods each day and are closed at the weekend. Dr. Daniel’s clinic is open for long periods each day and remains open at the weekends providing a good service for the children and local people. The clinic is located in the Mathare 4B District and has only basic equipment and a limited supply of drugs. Because of the lack of medical facilities Dr. Dan is only able to treat minor illnesses and offer an outpatients service for his patients.
Intestinal worm infections including hookworm, whipworm, roundworm and schistosomiasis are among the world’s most widespread diseases, with roughly one in four people infected. School age children have the highest infection prevalence of any group. Although light worm infections are often asymptomatic, more intense infections can lead to lethargy, anemia, malnutrition and growth stunting. Treating worm infections also appears to strengthen children’s immunological response to other infections, potentially producing broader health benefits in regions with high tropical disease burdens.
Evidence has shown that treating children for worms - which affect an estimated 600 million school-aged children worldwide - improves school attendance, health, and long-term productivity. Oral deworming drugs are extremely effective at killing most varieties of worms with a single does, at a cost of a few pence. Rapid infection means that the drugs must be taken every 6 - 12 months to keep worm infections at bay.
Deworming treatment is not only highly effective and inexpensive, it is easy to administer through schools and can bring benefit to children years after treatment.
Among interventions that have been rigorously tested by randomised evaluations, school-based deworming is one of the most cost-effective means of increasing school attendance and improving health in areas where intestinal worms are endemic. It can also result in large gains in earnings and living standards years after children receive treatment.
Funding for these health checks is provided by a couple from the United Kingdom.
To read about the healthcare program which was run in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019 please click below:
.
The children receiving health checks from Dr. Dan and his nurses. February 2024
