The National Deworming Day (NDD) was observed across the country on February 10, 2020.
- Children and adolescents in the age group of 1 to 19 years were administered single dose of a safe medicine Albendazole in all states and Union Territories on the occasion.
- The objective of the day is to deworm children and adolescents to reduce the prevalence of parasitic worms in the intestine.
- Children and adolescents who miss the dose can get dewormed on the 17th of this month. Union Health Ministry has said that washing hands can prevent worm infestation and many other diseases to a larger extent.
Objective
- The NDD is implemented with an objective to reduce the prevalence of Soil Transmitted Helminths (STH), commonly called the parasitic intestinal worms, among all children and adolescents.
- Infections with the main STH – roundworm, whipworm and hookworms – contribute to 50.1 lakh disability adjusted life-years (DALYs) worldwide (WHO, 2010). One DALY can be thought of as one lost “healthy” year from a life.
- In India, over 22 crore children under 14 years are at risk of STH infections (WHO, 2017).
Background
- Launched in 2015, the NDD is the largest public health program implemented on a single day reaching crores of children and adolescents through two NDD rounds every year.
