The Business Bytes
TBB BUREAU
BHUBANESWAR, MARCH 7, 2022
The Health and Family Welfare Department of the Odisha Government in collaboration with Global Health Strategies flagged off the Mass Drug Administration (MDA) rounds in 7 districts of Odisha on Monday with the commitment to leaving no stone unturned in achieving the elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis.
Trained health workers will visit every household between March 7 and 16 in 7 districts — Bargarh, Keonjhar, Kandhamal, Mayurbhanj, Sonepur, Sundargarh and Sambalpur – to administer the drug.
Nearly 36,172 trained Drug Administrators and 3,886 Supervisors have been deployed across 7 districts. The targeted beneficiaries in these districts are 1,07,39,274.
“During the MDA rounds, it will be ensured that all eligible beneficiaries of the district consume anti-filaria drugs in the presence of trained healthcare workers. Everyone, except children below 2 years of age, pregnant women and seriously ill people must consume the prescribed dosage during the rounds”.
Dr. Niranjan Mishra, Director Public Health, Govt. of Odisha said, “Our focus is to ensure community participation to make MDA rounds successful. Further, we have to ensure that the drugs are administered in the presence of health workers and not merely distributed”. He further appealed to the communities stating that “it is imperative for the communities to consume the drugs in the presence of health workers, to protect themselves and their families from Filariasis.
He further said that “The success of our efforts is due to the concerted efforts by all departments. We all need to come together to fight against this serious disease. He further mentioned that simultaneously, we also need to provide social support to the patients who are suffering with Filaria.
Department of Health and Family Welfare, Odisha, WHO Odisha, Global Health Strategies (GHS) and Project Concern International (PCI) are working together to eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis the State.
