National Deworming initiative to benefit 32 cr children : Nadda

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda on February 10, 2018, launched the National Deworming Day at a function at Gurugram, Haryana. Speaking on the occasion he said, “Government of India is committed to ensuring high quality healthcare accessible to every child and up to the last mile. One of the interventions, the National Deworming Day, is one of the largest public health initiatives in the world. ”

Speaking at the function, Nadda announced that for this round of National Deworming Day, the Government is aiming to reach more than ­­­­­­­­32.2 crore children. He stated that the Ministry had first launched National Deworming Day (NDD) in 2015 which was implemented in 11 States/UTs across all Government and Government-aided schools and Anganwadi centres targeting children aged 1 to 19 years. Since then the programme has been scaled up throughout the country.

Nadda said that the government prioritises the wellbeing of children no matter which part of the country they live in and what their circumstances are. “We follow a life-cycle approach in devising all our health programmes, right from pregnancy till adolescence, we take care of the mother and the child to make them healthier and get their timely access to healthcare. Our programmes like National Deworming Day, which is for all children, are ensuring prevention of cognitive disability as well decreasing the school dropout rate of children by improving overall health of the children. All these initiatives move us closer to overall wholesome development of the country,” Nadda added, according to a PIB release.

Nadda said: the National Deworming Day will mobilize health personnel, state governments and other stakeholders to prioritise investment in control of Soil Transmitted Helminth (STH) infections—one of the most common infections. He said, “It aims to create mass awareness about the most effective and low-cost STH treatment— administering Albendazole tablets. The tablet has no side effects and in case the dose gets missed, MoHFW carries out ‘mop-up’ sessions, to ensure no child is left out.”

The National Deworming Day is a single fixed-day approach to treating intestinal worm infections in all children aged 1- 19 years and is held on February 10 and August 10 each year.