Observation of National Deworming Day to make Odisha healthy
Bhubaneswar : To make every woman of reproductive age and child worm free, the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Odisha aims to deworm more than one crore children and women across the state on 10 August. The mop-up round will be held on 17 August for those beneficiaries who missed the dose administered on 10 August.
Along with the deworming campaign, the Vitamin A supplementation programme will also be implemented. The children aged 9 to 60 months will receive age-appropriate Vitamin A solutions at Routine Immunization sites and at the special Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Day during the month of August.
Addressing the media in Bhubaneswar, Dr Sanjukta Sahoo, Director of Family Welfare, informed, “During NDD, the children aged 6–19 years and women of reproductive age 20-24years will be provided with Albendazole tablet while children aged 1–5 years will be administered age-appropriate Albendazole suspension at respective schools and Anganwadi centres facilitated by teachers, Anganwadi Workers and ASHAs”.
National Deworming Day (NDD) August 2024 round will be held in 19 districts i.e., Balasore, Bhadrak, Bolangir, Boudh, Cuttack, Deogarh, Gajapati, Jagatsighpur, Kendrapada, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Khurda, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nayagarh, Nabrangpur, Nuapada, Rayagada and Puri.
Dr Sahoo informed, “Lymphatic Filariasis-Mass Drug Administration (LFMDA) will be implemented in identified Implementation Unit (IU) / Blocks of rest 11 districts (Angul, Bargarh, Dhenkanal, Ganjam Jharsuguda, Jajpur, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur, Sonepur & Sundergarh) in which, children aged 1-2 years will be provided with Albendazole suspension under NDD. In rest of the blocksof these 11 Districts where LF-MDA is not implemented, children and women will be covered under NDD.”
All schools and anganwadi centres will be the implementation sites of the NDD. All the private schools, playschools, childcare institutions, and academic institutions will be included in this campaign.
“National Deworming Day is a vital initiative in safeguarding the health of our children and communities.This widespread initiative aims to improve the overall health, nutritional status, access to education, and quality of life of children and women of reproductive age,” emphasized Sourav Bhattacharjee, Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF. “By providing access to deworming medication, we’re not only preventing the harmful effects of intestinal worms but also fostering healthier futures”.
The campaign is a collaborative effort between the Department of Health and Family Welfare, and Department of School and Mass Education, Department of Women and Child Development, and Department of ST and SC Development, and Development partners such as UNICEF.
The press conference was attended by Dr. Sanjukta Sahoo, Director Family Welfare; Mr. Sourav Bhattacharjee, Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF; Dr. Aditya Mohapatra, Additional Director – Child Health; Dr.Smrutijit Patnaik, Joint Director-Nutrition and Dr.Sanjay Kumar Sahoo, Nutrition Officer, UNICEF.
