Washim to give deworming tablets to 2.85 lakh children on National Deworming Day

The National Deworming Day campaign will be held in Washim district on Tuesday to keep children healthy. The target is to give albendazole deworming tablets to 2,85,847 children aged 1 to 19 years.

Collector Yogesh Kumbhejkar directed that full care be taken so that not a single eligible child in the district misses the treatment. He gave the instructions at a meeting of the District Coordination Committee held on Friday under his chairmanship.

District Surgeon Dr Anil Kavarkhe and District Health Officer Dr Premkumar Thombre were among the many Health Department officials present at the meeting. The campaign is being run jointly by the Public Health Department, the National Health Mission and the Health Department of the Zilla Parishad. The Collector said the health, education and women and child development departments should work in coordination. Arrangements should also be made to reach out-of-school children and give them the tablet.

The campaign is important for the physical and mental development of children. Worms in the stomach can cause problems such as weakness, malnutrition and difficulty concentrating on studies. To protect children from these problems, eligible children will be given the tablet according to the fixed schedule. Collector Kumbhejkar appealed to parents not to trust rumours and to cooperate with the campaign as guided by the Health Department.

The tehsil-wise number of beneficiary children is as follows: 78,132 in Washim tehsil, 50,545 in Karanja, 45,588 in Risod, 39,001 in Manora, 37,339 in Malegaon and 35,242 in Mangrulpir. The district-wide target totals 2,85,847 children. The campaign will draw on 1,196 anganwadi centres, 1,224 schools and 286 colleges in the district. A total of 1,075 ASHA workers and 166 health workers (arogya sevikas) will be engaged in the work.

The dose is fixed by age. Children aged 1 to 2 years will get 200 mg, that is, half a tablet. Children and adolescent boys and girls aged 2 to 19 years will get 400 mg, that is, one full tablet. Teachers and health workers will administer the tablet to schoolchildren. Anganwadi workers will give it to anganwadi children and out-of-school children.

A mop-up day has been set for November 3 for eligible children who are ill or absent on the day of the campaign. They will be given the tablet that day, so that children who could not take part in the regular campaign also receive the treatment.

On preparations, a total of 3,26,000 albendazole tablets have already been distributed to all health institutions in the district. A workshop for district-level officials was completed on Thursday. Training of teachers, ASHA workers and anganwadi workers at the tehsil and primary health centre level will be completed on Saturday. All departments concerned have been asked to plan and work so that every eligible child gets the tablet. The Health Department has also asked parents to make sure their children take part in the campaign.