In Mbahé, a village in the department of Mbagne located in the south of Mauritania, many children are affected by parasites. The parasites harm their digestive system, their health and their cognitive capacity. Deworming rids the body of these parasites.

Roughiatou Kane, Counterpart’s nutrition agent, administers a deworming dose to Aissata.

“After receiving the two doses, I feel much better and my health has improved. I find that deworming is a very good thing”, says Aissata Abu Ba, a 15-year-old student in the 6th grade. Aissata received the doses as part of the school’s deworming campaign. She chronically suffered from minor stomach pain, but due to the deworming, she feels much better and so do the other students who benefitted from the deworming campaign.

Thanks to school deworming, pupils are healthier, more focused during class and are motivated to attend.

“The deworming has had a positive impact on the health of my pupils. Thanks to it, frequent vomiting and diarrhea have considerably decreased or even disappeared,” added Moussa Hamath N’Gaidé, the school’s director.

Currently 445 pupils of the school have benefited from the deworming program, of which 44% are boys and 56% are girls.

Since the beginning of school deworming, most common ailments that pupils had, such as diarrhea and fever, have greatly decreased. Pictured here, Aissata with her parents.

Regular deworming reduces pupils’ health issues so that they can continue their learning in better conditions. Counterpart conducted deworming campaigns in 209 schools with funding from the US Department of Agriculture’s McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program “The Future is Ours!”

Learn more about the Mcgovern-Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program in Mauritania here.