NEW YORK TIMES: ….Two economists, Michael Kremer of Harvard University and Edward Miguel of the University of California, Berkeley, found that deworming reduced school absenteeism by 25 percent in a sampling of schools in Kenya and that regular treatment could lead to an additional year of attendance — all for $3.50 per student, far less than subsidies, meals, free bicycles or other incentives to keep kids in school.
Children who are regularly dewormed earn over 20 percent more as adults and work 12 percent more hours, while those infected are 13 percent less likely to be literate.
Worms affect 600 million school-age children worldwide and cause diarrhea, anemia, internal bleeding, malnutrition and other debilitating symptoms. These blood-draining parasites stunt physical and mental growth, sap energy and can leave a child too weak to attend school. Hookworm, ringworm and roundworm are soil-transmitted helminths, so low-income people who live in unsanitary conditions or don’t wear shoes are particularly susceptible… (more)
