The Union Health Ministry on Saturday launched a nationwide mass drug administration (MDA) campaign aimed at ending filariasis disease transmission through door-to-door administration of anti-filarial drugs, especially in 10 affected states including Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
The launch came a month after the programme received resounding support from Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to eliminate filariasis by 2027, three years ahead of the global target.
India has ramped up efforts to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (LF), a vector-borne disease caused by culex mosquitoes that leads to disabilities, well ahead of the global targets to safeguard communities from disabilities, as well as from social and economic insecurity.
The Centre has already unveiled a renewed five-pronged strategy for the elimination of LF, a statement from the Ministry said.
Launching the campaign, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said, "Collective action is required to tackle LF". He urged all the states to focus on directly-observed therapy rather than distribution of drugs and emphasised focusing on intensive monitoring at the block level.
Uttar Pradesh informed that through a D2C (direct-to-consumer) campaign, it is reaching out to 80 lakh families with LF messages and importance of MDA drugs through social media while Jharkhand will be conducting these rounds at 81 sites, covering close to 12,032 villages.
Similarly, Odisha aims to cover 1.36 crore beneficiaries through efforts at camps, schools and colleges, West Bengal will be conducting these rounds in seven districts, covering a population of almost 60 lakh.
It will also be deploying mobile health teams to avert any untoward incidents. Chhattisgarh will be undertaking the rounds in two endemic districts and has also deployed rapid response teams. At the same time, Andhra Pradesh has engaged health volunteers who will go house to house in one district to ensure the consumption of these drugs, the statement said.
Maharashtra will be covering four districts and 16 blocks, Madhya Pradesh will be conducting the rounds in eight districts. Karnataka will be targeting the endemic district and two blocks and will ensure that the collector inspects the campaign and ensures maximum coverage.
Bihar has ramped up efforts towards a successful MDA campaign and celebrities who have a huge fan base on social media have been roped in for the campaign.
Roli Singh, Additional Secretary and Mission Director (NHM), Ministry of Health, said, "We have adopted a multi-pronged approach with MDA rounds in two phases, where 1,113 blocks in 90 districts across 10 states will be launching a campaign against filariasis.”