Deworming in the News

Deworming is being talked about in the media. The problems associated with STH and Schistosomiasis do not grab headlines like other diseases, but the sicknesses they cause can be equally devastating. It is our hope that deworming will be recognized more and more by the media as an excellent means to increase access to education and improve development.

Media is a powerful tool to increase awareness about parasitic worms, their effects on people, and the simple and cost-effective means to combat and prevent the disease.

'Deworming is one of the most cost-effective ways that developing countries can improve attendance and performance in schools' Philanthropic blogger- whatgives365 - highlights the value of supporting DtW's mass deworming initiatives... read her blog.

How do can we find out what is the most cost effective way of alleviating poverty in low income countries? During this fascinating TED lecture Clark Medal-winner Esther Duflo details how randomized control tests have identifed deworming as a development 'best buys'... watch the lecture here.

Giving What We Can recommends DtW as an extremely cost-effective charity, find out more here.

The work of DtW is a sure fire way of improving the status of the world's women writes Nicholas Kristof in his New York Times blog read the full article here.

Nicholas Kristof again features deworming as one of the most cost-effective means of getting more children into school and highlights DtW in a list of savvy and creative non-profits. Read the full article in the December 23, 2009 edition of the New York Times here.

Nicholas Kristof cites deworming as one of the most cost-effective means of improving education. Read the full article in the November 20, 2009 edition of the New York Times here.

More on the school-based deworming success in Andhra Pradesh at the World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit 2009. Read the full press release here.

"20 for 2." Deworm the World (DtW) and their Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) education mega-commitment partners will deworm 20 million school-age children across 26 countries in 2009, doubling the original commitment target for year one of 10 million children in 19 countries. Announced at CGI 2009, DtW expanded coverage to these 20 million children at an investment of only two million dollars ($0.10 per child). Read the DtW press release here, and the mega-commitment partner press release here.

Deworm the World featured on the blog of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases. Read the post here.

School-based deworming cited as a development best buy vs. computers in a Miller-McCune article, published August 20, 2009. Click here to access the full article by Timothy Ogden.

Millions of children set to benefit from school-based deworming in India. In Andhra Pradesh, India, the Ministries of Health and Education together have launched a state-wide school-based deworming program, targeting over two million children in the first phase (read press coverage here and here). Other states in India are now recognizing deworming as an important education intervention and are looking to implement similar programs.

SKS, a major microfinance organization in India, will use their distribution network to treat children within India, targeting one million children in an Andhra Pradesh pilot program. Deworm the World is continuing to provide technical and operational support to both the government and SKS deworming programs in Andhra Pradesh.

As a rapidly successful initiative of the Young Global Leaders, Deworm the World is featured in the World Economic Forum's September 2009 newsletter. The article highlights key successes in India and Kenya, and can be read in full here.

The American Institutes for Research welcomes Deworm the World at its corporate offices in Washington, D.C. The American Institutes for Research (AIR) welcomed the secretariat of Deworm the World (DtW) to AIR's International Development Program offices in Washington, D.C. at a formal reception on April 7, 2009. As committed at the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting, AIR is providing office space, technical support, and administrative and IT support to ensure Deworm the World's effective operations. In addition to housing the secretariat, AIR is a key technical and implementation partner working closely with Deworm the World to develop high quality national plans for school-based deworming. Click here to learn more about AIR, and here to learn more about DtW and its partnerships.

Deworming and Deworm the World were recently featured in a New York Times op-ed, published April 18, 2009. The columnist Nicholas Kristof includes deworming as one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing global poverty. Click here to access the full article.

Kenya commits to deworm 3 million children in 2009. Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga announced in March 2009 the Kenyan government's commitment to deworm school children; an effective health intervention in improving students' participation in schools. Speaking when he met Deworm the World's Prof. Michael Kremer of Harvard University, Mr. Odinga said that worms were as responsible for absenteeism in schools as cost, distance, and lack of facilities. Read more.

Kenya to invest Sh70 million to deworm children. Kenya will launch a countrywide school-based deworming program investing Sh70 million to target 3 million children in the most high-risk areas of the country, as announced by Prime Minister Raila Odinga at a Deworm the World event at the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Read Jackson Okoth's article in The Standard highlighting deworming as a "best buy" for public health interventions leading to improved educational achievement, health status, physical growth, and cognitive development among school-age children.

Deworm the World at the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Deworm the World announced the expansion of deworming programs in Kenya, Guyana, India, and 12 other countries in 2009 during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009 in Davos. The President of Guyana Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, Prime Minister of Kenya Mr. Raila Odinga, Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme Ms. Josette Sheeran, and Founder and Chairperson of SKS Microfinance Dr. Vikram Akula all announced commitments to launch or scale up deworming programs in 2009. Read more about the deworming commitments announced at the World Economic Forum in January 2009, and watch the deworming statements by Prime Minister Odinga and Britain's Former First Lady Cherie Blair at the Deworm the World event.

Deworm the World's "A Call to Action" documentary premieres at the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Watch Deworm the World's "A Call to Action." Filmed on location in Kenya by award-winning Director Eugenio Polgovsky, the film highlights how the education and development of 400 million school-aged children is being impeded by parastic worm infections. However this problem is not insurmountable. As explained in this documentary there is a safe and simple treatment that at a cost of less than $0.50 per child per year can change the lives of school-age children and give them a chance for a better future.

The heads of J-PAL in South Asia highlight school-based deworming in India and the work of Deworm the World. Read more here.

President Clinton announces a mega-commitment on school feeding and deworming at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2008 Annual Meeting. Up to 10 million children will benefit from deworming under this commitment - read more. Watch President Clinton announce the commitment here by scrolling to 1:03:55. To find out more about the commitment, visit the CGI here and enter Deworm the World in the search box.

President Bush Pledges $350 million dollars to fight neglected tropical diseases! Read the Hoyt Bleakley and Miriam Wasserman article in the Chicago Tribune highlighting the overwhelming historical evidence in the US South that deworming school children has profound impacts on education and health.

"The culprit, an intestinal parasite called hookworm, is one of the "neglected tropical diseases" that Bush has just pledged our country's support in attacking. While few Americans today have even heard of the disease, in 1910 about 40 percent of Southern children suffered from hookworm infection." (read more)

Michael Kremer comments on why Bush's pledge of $350 million to fight neglected tropical diseases is one of the best investments to be made. Review the blog posting on the Center for Global Development’s website.

"Today's pledge by President Bush to invest $350 million in fighting Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) over the next 5 years is one of the wisest investments we can make in combating poverty around the world. This is particularly true when children are mass treated for common diseases through schools. While development initiatives are often driven by sentiment, school based treatment of neglected diseases is backed by rigorous evidence." (read more)

Deworm the World is a big hit at the 2008 World Economic Forum in Davos! Check out the blog in TIME about Deworm the World's presentation. Cherie Blair and Gene Sperling role played while Nicolas Kristof emceed!

"Somewhere behind those backs of people's heads are Cherie Booth Blair (you know, Tony's wife), pretending to be an intestinal worm, chasing (while wearing boots with three-inch heels) after a bunch of Davos attendees pretending to be schoolchildren. Meanwhile, Gene Sperling (a top economic adviser in the Clinton administration), is pretending to be a teacher, rushing to get antiworm medicine to the kids before Cherie gets them." (read more)

• Read Nicolas Kristof's op-ed column in the New York Times, Attack of the Worms....

"Quiz time: So what do hundreds of millions of ordinary schoolchildren around the world possess that American kids almost never get? Answer: worms?
(...)
"Indeed, the cheapest way to increase school attendance in poor countries isn’t to build more schools, but to deworm children. Yet almost no government aid goes to deworming." (read more)

• Understand how randomized evaluations uncovered the unparalleled cost-effectiveness of deworming as an educational intervention in Nature....

"Faced with the multitude of problems that result from and contribute to poverty, how can you decide which strategy to use to tackle an issue? One innovative lab is borrowing ideas from the medical world in a bid to find out." (read more)

Related pieces....

• See how the debate over 'sustainable development' is heating up, due in part to what randomized trials have unearthed about deworming and other development interventions. (Read the Boston Globe article)

"THE HOLY GRAIL of international development has long been sustainability - creating markets and institutions that will flourish after Western donors have gone home....

....The researchers found that charging a fee for the relevant [deworming] medicines brought use down from 75 percent in a school to 19 percent - a devastating result." (read more)