International Aid Group Fights Parasites in Brazil

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Officials from INMED are working to help some 2 million Brazilian children infected with intestinal parasites.

For US$5 per child, the drug mebendazole can kill the bugs, which deplete children of vitamin A and iron. The U.S.-based international health and development organization created the Healthy Children, Healthy Futures program to combine public and private monies to aid impoverished public health.

Officials from the World Health Organization estimate that 90 percent of children in rural Brazil are infected with these parasites. Because they are transmitted via soil and water, the organization teaches how to maintain their health after the medication is given. These lessons include information on hand washing, wearing shoes, corralling animals and washing fruits and vegetables.

INMED also works in Mexico, the Dominica Republic, Burkina Faso, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala, Honduras, the Philippines and India.

For additional information, call Marshall Hoffman at (703) 820-2244.