BHUBANESWAR: The State Government on Monday said as many as 1.42 crore children in the age group of one to 19 years will be given deworming tablets on National Deworming Day (September 26).
A decision to this effect was taken at a State-level meeting chaired by Health and Family Welfare (H&FW) Department Secretary Pramod Kumar Meherda at the Secretariat. As part of the drive, periodic deworming drug (Albendazole) will be administered to children to prevent them from being infected by soil-transmitted helminthes (STH) caused by different species of roundworms which are transmitted through soil after getting contaminated with faecal matter.
The drive will be conducted between September 26 and October 3, Health officials said. The State Government had achieved 92 per cent coverage in the previous round of the deworming drive, held in April this year. In a bid to increase the coverage and reach out to more number of children, the focus will be on administering the medicine to students from both Government and private schools.
Health officials said 43.62 lakh children in the age group of nine months to five years will be given vitamin A as part of the drive. The School and Mass Education Department has decided to involve at least one teacher from each school as nodal teacher. These teachers will be involved in implementing the drive.