Bhubaneswar: To combat the problem of intestinal worms among women of reproductive age (WRA) and children, the state government Wednesday directed all district Collectors and five municipal corporations’ commissioners to prepare for effective implementation of the National Deworming Day (NDD) August 10.
Health and Family Welfare Department, in collaboration with the Women and Child Development Department, School and Mass Education Department, SC & ST Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare Department and Panchayati Raj and DW Department will conduct the biannual mass deworming across the state in all schools and Anganwadi Centers (AWCs), officials said. This year’s target group of NDD is children aged between 1 and 19 years and women of reproductive age of 20 to 24 years (non-pregnant, non-lactating), the officials said. In a letter to all concerned department secretaries, Health and Family Welfare Commissioner-cum-Secretary Shalini Pandit said, “Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) is a significant public health concern in India.
As per an official estimate, 29.4 per cent of children of the state have STH which is detrimental to the physical and cognitive development of the child.” “In areas where parasitic worms are endemic, administering safe and effective deworming drugs to the children at schools and AWCs leads to significant improvement in outcomes related to education, career choice, earnings, and long-term well-being,” she said in the letter. “The children will be given Albendazole (in tablet or suspension form) and women of reproductive age will be distributed Albendazole tablets Pandit said adding that for those who would miss the dose August 10, a deworming mop-up round (MUD) will be held August 17,” Pandit said.
Also, Lymphatic FilariasisMass Drug Administration (LFMDA) will be implemented in some IU/blocks of 11 districts viz Angul, Bargarh, Dhenkanal, Ganjam Jharsuguda, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur and Sundargarh, she said in the letter. The mop-up round will cover 19 districts i.e. Balasore, Bhadrak, Bolangir, Boudh, Cuttack, Deogarh, Gajapati, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Khurda, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nayagarh, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Rayagada and Puri, the letter said.