By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR:To improve child health, combat anaemia, and fight parasitic worm infections, the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of Odisha, in collaboration with UNICEF, is set to launch the National Deworming Day (NDD) programme across Odisha on August 10, 2026.The mop-up round will be held on 17 August for those beneficiaries who missed the dose on 10 August.
The NDD programme will administer Albendazole to over 1.61 crore children aged 1 to 19 years and more than 19 lakh women of reproductive age (20 to 24 years) across all 30 districts. This includes 32,94,630 children aged 1-5 years in NDD districts, and 1,28,89,071 children aged 6-19 years.
The biannual Vitamin A Supplementation (VAS) programme will cover an estimated 32 lakh children aged 9 to 60 months across August month, boosting immunity and reducing child mortality and morbidity.
Dr Aditya Mohapatra, Additional Director, Child Health stated, “National Deworming Day is an important public health program that prevents intestinal worm infections in children so that they can grow healthier and realize their full potential. Regular deworming increases the body’s ability to absorb vital nutrients, leading to better nutrition, better learning performance and a reduction in anaemia cases among children and adolescents. And it benefits the health and well-being of women and young girls as it helps develop a healthy future for our communities.”
Highlighting the integrated nature of the campaign, Sourav Bhattacharjee, Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF Odisha, noted, “Combining deworming with Vitamin A supplementation ensures that children receive essential health and nutrition services in a single visit. This integrated approach helps reduce undernutrition, strengthens immunity, and supports healthy growth and cognitive development, giving every child a healthier start in life.”
This large-scale initiative, which is coordinated by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, will involve government, government-aided, and private schools, as well as Anganwadi centres. Teachers, Anganwadi Workers, and ASHAs will actively participate in drug administration. UNICEF is supporting this campaign.
The press conference was also attended by Dr. Smrutijit Patnaik, Joint Director-Nutrition; Dr. Prativa Pradhan, Joint Director- Child Health and Dr. Sanjay Kumar Sahoo, Nutrition Office, UNICEF. Odisha.
