{"id":1281301,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1281301/?format=json","text_counter":127,"type":"other","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"negative effects of poor sanitation, such as parasite infestations, particularly among school children lead to anaemia, stunted-growth and other salient problems which in turn lead to low school attendance and impact education standards; recognising that according to research, school-based deworming is one of the most cost effective interventions that provides a huge range of holistic and social benefits, such as increased school attendance and healthier kids who do better in school, while utilising already-existing school structures in administering deworming treatments to school pupils; recalling that previous programmes conducted by the Ministry of Health in partnership with a non-governmental organisation called Evidence Action have only been piloted in a few selected counties and that the deworming efforts have been uncoordinated and dependent on external support with no clear policy or budgetary framework; now therefore, this House urges that the National Government, through the Ministry of Health, develops a national policy on deworming school-going children as a crucial part of mainstreaming of healthcare access in the Country."}