Impact of Deworming on Education

Increases access to education at low cost. A randomized evaluation of the impact of deworming, found that deworming children in Kenya reduced absenteeism by 25%. Given the low cost of deworming treatment, an additional aggregate year of schooling could be “purchased” by this program for only $3.50. A survey of rigorous randomized studies of interventions improving school attendance found that deworming was more cost effective than all other methods studied. (Edward Miguel and Michael Kremer. [Jan. 2004]. “Worms: Identifying Impacts on Education and Health in the Presence of Treatment Externalities.” Econometrica, Vol. 72, No. 1, pp. 159-217.)

See how the cost of deworming compares to other interventions designed to increase schooling.

Improves literacy and gives children a better chance at being productive adults. Historical evidence on deworming indicates that hookworm eradication campaign in the southern United States in the early 1900s by the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission increased school enrollment and pupil attendance. In addition, adults who were exposed to the treatment campaign as children had higher rates of literacy than those who were persistently infected by worms as children. Subsequent long term follow-up indicated a substantial gain in income in those areas where hookworm infection was eradicated due to treatment, suggesting that adults who were treated for worm infections during childhood were better able to contribute to the economic development of their community.  It is estimated that approximately 20 percent of the income gap between the northern and southern United States in 1900 can be attributed to hookworm. (Hoyt Bleakley. [Feb. 2007]. “Disease and Development: Evidence from Hookworm Eradication in the American South.”, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 122, No. 1, pp. 73-117.)

Improves cognitive skills..... A study in Jamaica found deworming improved children's performance in three memory tests after treatment for moderate to heavy whipworm infections. (Donald T. Simeon, Sally M. Grantham-McGregor, Joy E. Callender and Michael S. Wong. [July 1995]. "Treatment of Trichuris trichiura Infections Improves Growth, Spelling Scores and School Attendance in some Children." Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 125, No. 7, pp. 1875-1883.) Another study from China found that children who were treated for schistosomiasis showed significant improvements on three of five cognitive skills tests. (C Nokes, ST McGarvey, L Shiue, G Wu, H Wu, DA Bundy, and GR Olds. [1999]. "Evidence for an improvement in cognitive function following treatment of Schistosoma japonicum infection in Chinese primary schoolchildren." American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Vol. 60, Issue 4, pp. 556-565.)

....which improves the potential to learn. Children in Tanzania treated for heavy infections with schistosomes and hookworm, benefited more from a teaching session in which they were shown how to solve a reasoning task. After this guidance was given to all children, performance on the reasoning task was higher in those children dewormed than those who carried infections and similar to that of children who began the study uninfected. (Elena L. Grigorenko Robert J. Sternberg, Matthew Jukes, Katie Alcock, Jane Lamboc, Damaris Ngorosho, Catherine Nokes and Donald A. Bundy. [2006]. "Effects of antiparasitic treatment on dynamically and statically tested cognitive skills over time." Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Vol. 27, Issue 6, Pages 499-526.)

Photo courtesy of J-PAL/Guerrucci

Photo courtesy of J-PAL/Ozier