School Children’s Intestinal Parasite and Nutritional Status One Year after Complementary School Garden, Nutrition, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Interventions in Burkina Faso
Séverine Erismann, Serge Diagbouga, Christian Schindler, Peter Odermatt, Astrid M. Knoblauch, Jana Gerold, Andrea Leuenberger, Akina Shrestha, Grissoum Tarnagda, Jürg Utzinger, Guéladio Cissé
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Urban Farm DB summary
A cluster-randomized controlled trial in Burkina Faso, involving 360 children aged 8-15, assessed the impact of school garden, nutrition, and WASH interventions on intestinal parasites and nutritional status. The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections significantly decreased in intervention schools compared to control schools (OR = 0.2), and safe handwashing and latrine use improved. However, indices of undernutrition and water quality parameters did not decrease or change in intervention schools.