More than 200 residents of Mbee location in Kathiani, Mchakos, have benefitted frm anti-jigger campaign led by VIVA Africa.
The one day drive was conducted on February 11 at St Barnaba’s ACK, Mbee. Beneficiaries included 34 school dropouts who had suffered severe pain due infestation. Some had difficulty in walking.
Beneficiary Rose Nzeki urged the national government to intervene and help fix the problem and ensure children do not drop out of school.
VIVA Africa, health workers from level 4 Hospital worked alongside community health promoters, soaked the victims’ feet and hands in chemical solutions to cleanse the fresh wounds and prevent further infection.
The campaign began in the year 2020 and will continue to reach out to victims in other parts of the country. Many school children have been affected and the situation is to blame for the poor academic performance in regions with deep jigger infestation. Most affected children end up dropping from school because they feel stigmatized and because of underlying poverty in their families, they drop out of school. This acts as a hindrance to the country’s collective move towards economic development.

Community Health Assistant Rodah Mwende urged residents to maintain hygiene, cautioning that jiggers thrive in unclean environment, especially in areas with red soil. She affirmed that community health promoters would continue to monitor the victims for the next two weeks to make sure they recover.