NDD in Kamrup(M) district

GUWAHATI, Aug 9: Dr. Ganesh Saikia, Joint Director of Health Services, Kamrup Metro district, has stated in an official statement that the district has set a target of approximately 1,90,000 children from age group of 1 to 19 years to administer deworming tablets on August 10 to observe tiol Deworming Day (NDD) along with 27 districts of Assam and with all over India.

He said that with an aim to intensify efforts towards Soil Transmitted Helminthes (STH) control among children in India, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has decided to observe NDD on August 10, 2017 in all 36 States/ UTs of the country. The NDD will be followed by a mop-up day (MUD) on August 17, 2017 with the intent of deworming children who missed the dose on August 10. He informed that District Health Society has jointly planned the programme convergently with Education Department, Social Welfare Department & PHE Department to administer Deworming Tablets to the children of all schools and Anganwadi centres and out of school and anganwadi childern.

The Joint Director of Health Services also informed that the World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that 241 million children between the ages of 1 and 19 years are at risk of parasitic intestil worms in India, known as soil-transmitted Helminthes (STH). These children represent approximately 68 per cent of children in this age-group and approximately 28 per cent of the number of children estimated to be at-risk of STH infections globally. These parasitic infections result from poor sanitation and hygiene conditions, and are easily transmitted among children through contact with infected soil. The consequences of chronic worm infestation in children are both widespread and debilitating. Worms can cause anemia and under-nutrition, thereby impairing mental and physical development.

He informed that the school students will be administered deworming tablets by the school teachers, and at angawadi centers, angawadi workers will administer deworming tablets to their children with the help of ASHA & ANMs and those children who are not enrolled in schools and anganwadi centers will be tracked by the ASHAs and ANM and will be given deworming tablets on August 10 to August 17.