Public Health and Family Welfare Department in coordination with School Education Department, Tribal Welfare Department and Women and Child Development Department, launched a state-level campaign on National Deworming Day (NDD), choosing SOS Bal Gram Khajuri Kalan (Bhopal) as its partner. As part of the campaign, children aged between 01 and 19 years were given anti-worm pills (Albendazole).
Senior officials from Public Health and Family Welfare Department, School Education Department, Tribal Welfare Department, and Women and Child Development Department along with the SOS Bal Gram Children members attended the event. The Chief Guest for the event was National Health Mission Director Ms. Chhavi Bhardwaj
Approximately 85 children from SOS Bal Gram, students from nearby government schools and community people received deworming medicine.
Sharing his views on the relevance of the day, Sumanta Kar, Deputy National Director, Integrated Child Care,SOS Children’s Villages of India, said, “We at SOS India take utmost care ofchildren under our protection, for they are the future of the country, and take all the necessary steps with support from the government authorities towards their well-being.”
He added, “Worm infection blocks the physical and mental development of children and negatively impact on educational achievement in school children. Prevention of worm infection in children is an evidence-based strategy, under which we can make children worm-free. Deworming helps in total health nutrition, prevention of anaemia, improvement in intellectual development and this is what we strive to do by participating in such campaigns”
NDD falls under the purview of the Extended Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, and is also committed to improving the nutritional uptake in all children and adolescents and has immensely contributed to the cause of AnaemiaMukt Bharat and PoshanAbhiyaan, under the National Nutrition Strategy, formulated by NitiAayog in December 2017, with a vision towards anaemia and malnutrition reduction by 2022.
National Deworming Day is observed across all States and Union Territories simultaneously on the same day to reduce worm infestation and subsequent anemia in children. One to two year-old children were given half a tablet (200 mg) of Albendazole and two to 19-year-old children were fed one full tablet (400 mg ).
