Daijiworl Media Network - Dubai

Dubai, Apr 24: ‘Dubai Cares’ announced a three-year integrated school health programme in Liberia to tackle de-worming and eye care needs for school-aged children. ‘Dubai Cares’, a part of Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, is set to benefit around 77,000 children aged six to 18 years in four regions across Liberia through the programme.

The $2 million (Dh 7.35 million) programme aims to support Liberia’s health system in the upshot of the Ebola outbreak. Marginalised children in four regions of Liberia, with basic vision screening and de-worming, would be benefitted from the programme. After the initial examinations it will facilitate the referral and treatment process for children identified with visual impairment.

2,400 teachers from 1,200 schools, community volunteers and district education officers will be trained under the programme to carry out the de-worming and vision screening. The programme is also set to train four optometric technicians and provide a minimum of 3,000 pairs of high-quality eyeglasses to children and teachers identified with visual impairment.

“Liberia’s economy is highly vulnerable to external shocks and natural disasters and the recent Ebola outbreak has put an enormous strain on the country’s health and education systems. With this new programme, Dubai Cares is reaching out to vulnerable children in the most affected areas and we are placing schools at the centre of the strategy to de-worm children and provide a healthy environment for education. Over a period of three years, this programme will positively contribute towards the delivery of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets such as universal primary and secondary education, gender equality and inclusion, as well as universal health coverage,” said Annina Mattsson, the programme director at Dubai Cares.