Bhubaneswar: To combat the threat of intestinal worms pose to children’s health, the state government has asked Collectors of all the districts and commissioners of five municipal corporations to ensure effective implementation of the National Deworming Day (NDD) in their respective jurisdictions this month.
In this regard, Health and Family Welfare Secretary Shalini Pandit, Women & Child Development Secretary Shubha Sarma, School & Mass Education Secretary Aswathy S and ST & SC Development Secretary Roopa Roshan Sahoo jointly wrote letters to all Collectors and municipal commissioners. Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) is a significant public health concern in India.
As per Centre’s estimate, 29.7 per cent of Odisha’s children have STH, which is detrimental to physical and cognitive development. In areas where parasitic worms are endemic, administering safe, effective deworming drugs to children at schools and Anganwadi centres (AWCs) leads to significant improvement in outcomes related to education, career, earnings, and long-term well-being. “Therefore, the four departments and Panchayati Raj & DW are conducting the biannual mass deworming across the state in all schools and AWCs,” explained an official, adding intensive awareness campaigns focusing on the benefits of Aibendazole and water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) practices have also been undertaken.
This year, the NDD August 2023 round will be conducted August 10 and mop up day, August 17, in19 districts: Balasore, Bhadrak, Bolangir, Boudh, Cuttack, Deogarh, Gajapati, Jagatsinghpur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Kendrapara, Khurda, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nayagarh, Nuapada, Puri and Raygada. Under NDD, the children aged 1-19 and women of reproductive age 20-24 (non-pregnant and non-lactating) will be provided with Albendazole (suspension or tablet) at respective schools and AWCs by teachers & AWWs.
In the remaining 11 districts including Angul, Bargarh, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Sonepur, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Mayurbhanj, 1-2 year age group children will be provided with Albendazole suspension in routine immunisation sessions, the secretaries told Collectors. “All government, government aided and private schools are included in the programme. Special drives should be undertaken to include private schools in urban and rural areas,” said the secretaries. The Collectors were asked to give concerted efforts across all departments at the district and block levels to ensure effective implementation and increased coverage of the programme.