Government has set a target of deworming approximately 27 crore children across the country as part of this year's 'National Deworming Day' programme which would be launched from Telangana tomorrow.
As part of the programme, which would be followed by a mop-up drive on February 15, where the left-outs will be taken care of, 400 mg of albendazole tablets will be administered to children aged 1-19 years. Out of the targetted 27 crore children, 19 crore are studying in schools, Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda here today said.
"Last year the National Deworming Day was launched in Rajasthan and reached more than 89.9 million children in 10 states and one UT. This year the target is 27 crore and the programme will be undertaken in all the states and UTs."
"If we are able to hit the target of 27 crore, India will be healthier and we will have a healthy young India. It's an ambitious programme and world's largest public health programme which we have undertaken. I am confident we will be successful in achieving the target with the co-operation of stakeholders," Nadda added.
He further said after focussed programme India was declared polio free. The ministry has chalked out special programmes to eliminate kala azar and leprosy, he said.
"We have increased the basket of vaccination from seven to eleven. We are trying to increase the basket of vaccination and make children much healthier, much stronger, not only survive but thrive and come out as healthier children," he added.
With regard to setting up of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Telangana, the Minister said, "the Government of India has decided on setting up AIIMS in a phased manner and Telangana is on priority list and that is what I can assure."
Parasitic worms or soil-transmitted helminths (STH), are among the most common infections worldwide. More than 1.5 billion people or 24 per cent of the world's population suffer from worm infections globally, an official statement from the ministry said.
"Worms interfere with nutrient uptake in children and can lead to anaemia, malnourishment and impaired mental and physical development. Research has shown that worms also pose a serious threat to children's education and productivity later in life. Deworming reduces the risk of worm infections in children," it said.
Health Ministry's National Family Health Survey also indicates that almost seven in ten children, aged between 6 month and 5 years, are anaemic, with even higher rates of anaemia in rural areas.
National Deworming Day is a nation-wide preschool (anganwadi) and school-based deworming effort to deworm all children at risk of worm infection.
"Mass, school-based deworming is safe, cost-effective, and
can rapidly be scaled to millions of children at one time. The government's fixed one-day school-based program ensures that the maximum number of children are reached cost-effectively," the statement from the ministry said.
India has the highest burden of soil-transmitted helminths in the world, with 220 million children aged 1-14 years at risk of worm infections.
Worms interfere with nutrient uptake in children; can lead to anaemia, malnourishment and impaired mental and physical development. Rigorous research has shown that worms also pose a serious threat to children's education and productivity later in life. Deworming reduces the risk of worm infections in children, an official said.
(REOPENS DES29)
Only two states -- Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh -- have reported less than 20 per cent STH prevalence.
The ministry has recommended annual deworming exercise in these two states and bi-annual drive in the rest of the country.
The first round of National Deworming Day (NDD) was observed in February 2015 in which 8.9 crore children were administered the deworming tablet across 11 states and UTs on a single day by achieving 85 per cent coverage.
Building on this success, the programme was scaled up to all 36 states and UTs in February 2016, and over 17.9 crore children were dewormed with 88 per cent coverage.
"Further intensifying our efforts to make children worm-free, in August 2016, NDD reached 11.9 crore children, in 26 states and UTs that conducted a bi-annual, based on worm prevalence data, exercise," Mishra said.
