The State Government has targeted to provide deworming tablets to 1.3 crore children in the age group of 1-19 years for better health and improved nutritional status in August starting from the upcoming National Deworming Day on August 8.
The Health and Family Welfare Department and the Unicef informed this on Tuesday at a Press meet held just ahead of the bi-annual round of National Deworming Day campaign and vitamin A supplementation programme on Tuesday.
Participants included Directors of Family Welfare, SIHFW, Public Health, and Health Services.
Regular deworming prevents children from intestinal parasitic worms that can lead to anaemia, malnutrition, impaired mental, physical and cognitive development and reduced school participation. Under the August round of the National Deworming Day bi-annual campaign, the State Government has targeted to reach about 1.3 crore children from 1 to 19 years’ age across all 30 districts in convergence with Health and FW, WCD and MS, S and E, Panchayati Raj and DW and ST and SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Departments.
The Family Welfare Director also informed that children who would not be able to get doses due to sickness or absenteeism would be administered the tablet on August 16, 2019. The bi-annual Vitamin A supplementation campaign would also be held in August 2019. Under this programme all children from 9 months to 5 years would be administered age specific vitamin A dose at the Routine Immunization session sites, he added.
Public Health Director said Lymphatic Filariasis- Mass Drug Administration (LF-MDA) door-to-door campaign would be organised in five districts, Baleswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Khorda and Nuapada, where there is a prevalence of Lymphatic Filariasis. All eligible population above two years of age would be covered.