The National Deworming team, in collaboration with provincial level of both departments (Provincial of Health and Provincial of Education), went to see and interview school teachers and health centre staffs on school based deworming activities while they conducted the Mebendazole distribution to the school children in round II around September, October and November 2005. Ten provinces participated, including Kg. Chhang, Siem Reap, Svay Rieng, Kg. Cham, Prey Veng, Kg. Thom, Stung Treng, Kampot, Battambang and Kep city. We observed that the collaboration between health staffs and education staffs greatly improved, for example they agreed each other to set up the campaign day for deworming in January and June. They wrote an official letter to disseminate the information to all the primary schools and health centres in their provinces before they did the MDA. Teachers disseminated the information to communities through school children and provided education on prevention of Soil-transmitted helminth. Health centre staffs assisted school teachers to provide Mebendazole to the school children. Our teams helped teachers and health centre staffs to validate the information on the number of school children, who received mebendazole and also to solve some problems related to the programme implementation.

　

 We noticed that about 70% of schools had latrine, but the children did not use it properly. Teachers and health staff started to promote health education on sanitation and hygiene for school children and communities.

　

 In 14 provinces (Kg. Speu, Koh Kong, Takeo, Odor Meanchey, Kandal, Pursat, Bantey Mean Chey, Preah Vihear, Mondulkiri, Kg. Som, Phnom Penh, Rattanakiri, Kratie, Pailin city) where the Deworming was already done, the monitoring teams visited some schools and interviewed school children using monitoring questionnaire. We have selected:

　

 All the schools we visited conducted MDA in June 2005 before school holiday. There was no difficulty in distributing mebendazole, and no side effect of children was reported. In a school in Bo Tum Sakor district and another school in Sre Ambel district, Koh Kong province, health center staffs said that it was difficult to provide drugs on time because schools are far a way from the health center. According to teachers, parents' attitude was found to be very positive. None of the school teachers reported negative attitudes or complaints from parents.

　

 More than 90% of children questioned in classes had received mebendazole in all the provinces except one school (83.9%) in Botum Sakor district in Koh Kong Province.

　

　

　

　

 Schistosoma mekongi infection continues to be a significant public problem among the population living along the Mekong River and its tributaries in the provinces of Kratie and Stung Treng. Healminthiasis is still one of the most important public health problems in rural areas as well as in urban areas in Cambodia, where there are insufficient access to appropriate sanitation and safe water.

　

 The monitoring of both operational and parasitological indicators showed that the prevalence remains low. However, because of inappropriate sanitary condition such as lack of latrines, inaccessibility to safe water and people's behaviour of taking bath, fishing, swimming, washing in the river, transmission is still going on in the area. Therefore the National Programme needs to confirm the evidence of re-infection in the transmission areas and plan towards elimination of the disease with following strategies:

　

 Regular Deworming for school children can protect children from worm and also maintain the prevalence very low, despite the result of Hookworms prevalence is still high but the intensity of egg are light. Monitoring of the school-based deworming programme is very important to ensure that the programme is run properly and successfully by the health staffs and school teachers. It also helps encourage staffs' collaboration between both systems (PoH and PoE) when they request and supply Mebendazole to conduct deworming programme for school children twice a year. Monitoring also make sure that data collection of Mebendazole distribution is carried out properly from the bottom (school, health centre) to the top (MoH, MoEYS) in both systems.

　

 The above successful plan and implementation of the program have been technically and financially supported by the Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation and WHO. Further support is crucial to achieve elimination of Schistosomiasis and reduction of soil-transmitted Helminthiases.