About Intestinal Worms
Nearly one billion children require annual treatment for intestinal worms, also known as soil-transmitted helminths. These parasitic infections cause malnutrition, anemia, and poor physical and mental growth.
Overview
Intestinal worms are a group of parasites – hookworm, ascaris (roundworm), and trichuris (whipworm) – that are spread by walking barefoot on contaminated soil or consuming food containing the parasite’s eggs.
Intestinal worm infections prevent economic development in rural communities. They thrive in areas that lack access to sanitation and hygiene infrastructure. Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of these infections, such as stunted growth and weakened immune systems. These health impacts can limit their ability to attend school and learn effectively, which can diminish their earning potential as adults.
Deworming children can improve their health and transform the future of their communities. Treatment has a big impact for just a small investment – albendazole and mebendazole, the drugs used to treat intestinal worms, can be provided for less than fifty cents per person per year. Children who are dewormed miss less school1 and girls are more likely to graduate secondary school2. As adults, they are able to earn more and support their families, which also leads to greater economic development for countries and regions.
Key Facts
1 Billion
children require treatment worldwide3
20%
of the world’s population are at risk
100+
countries are endemic4
50¢
the cost to provide a person with annual treatment
Beyond the standard treatment: expanding to reach everyone at risk
NATIONAL DEWORMING DAYS HELP SCHOOL CHILDREN THRIVE
Sakshi is a class ten student at the Chief Minister Rise School in Barkhedi, a village in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, India. She remembers being sick as a child.
“When I was younger, I was often unwell. I used to ignore it and immediately after school instead ran to play with my friends. Our hands used to get dirty and we would eat food without washing our hands.”
In India, millions of children like Sakshi are at risk of intestinal worm infections. At this scale, the economic and development impacts of these infections can be enormous.
Every year on Madhya Pradesh’s annual National Deworming Day the students at Sakshi’s school receive a tablet called albendazole to treat intestinal worms. With these pills, generously donated by GSK, and the commitment and leadership from the Indian government and local institutions, the elimination of intestinal worm infections as a public health problem is on the horizon. The deworming program has resulted in the rate of children with intestinal worms dropping from over 12% in 2014 to 3.3% in 2019.
Pawan Karoch, headmaster of the region’s middle school division, knows firsthand the impact the National Deworming Day programming has had.
“I see visible results in the attentiveness and efficiency of my students—they are now healthier than before and can concentrate.” After taking albendazole, Sakshi’s stomach aches disappeared, and she now shares the importance of health and hygiene with her classmates.
The END Fund’s role in Stopping Parasitic infections
The END Fund is accelerating progress towards elimination of intestinal worms as a public health problem. Through the Flagship Fund, the END Fund supported 12 countries in 2023 to provide mass deworming treatment, reducing the prevalence and enabling children to live healthier lives. Its goal is to ensure no one is left behind.
To go even further, the Deworming Innovation Fund supports an additional four countries – Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and Kenya – to prove that it is possible to stop the spread of intestinal worms by going beyond the standard approach of mass treatment campaigns. The Deworming Innovation Fund uses precision mapping, expanded treatments and improved water, hygiene and sanitation infrastructure to achieve its goals.
Other neglected tropical diseases
