Devex: Deworming: Now more than ever, a best buy for development
Grace Hollister, global director of Evidence Action’s Deworm the World Initiative, and Priya Jha, director of Evidence Action’s work in India

“…[D]eworming children is considered a ‘best buy’ in development, with a very high rate of return to society. A growing number of countries with high worm prevalence — Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, South Africa, and the Philippines — have begun national school-based deworming programs where all at-risk children regularly receive deworming treatment. India is by far the largest addition to this global movement. … The World Health Organization and global community are clear on what we need to achieve: Eliminate morbidity due to parasitic worms in children by 2020. … Political commitment to national programs in highly endemic countries is growing but the technical capacity in many countries is still low, and within countries there is often insufficient coordination among government agencies, donors, and nongovernmental organizations. Other high-burden countries need to join the fight against worms. … Together, we can deworm the world” (2/25).