Women of reproductive age living in countries where soil-transmitted helminths and schistosomes are endemic are particularly vulnerable to damages caused by infection with these worms. These include anaemia, micronutrient deficiencies and female genital schistosomiasis.

Damage adversely affects not only the health of the women themselves but also that of their newborns. It is therefore critical to scale up deworming programmes for women of reproductive age if we are to reach both the 2030 NTD road map and SDG targets.