Bhubaneswar : Department of Health and Family welfare, Odisha is committed to leaving no stone unturned in achieving the elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis. On March 07, 2022, the health department in collaboration with Global Health Strategies flag off the Mass Drug Administration (MDA) rounds in 7 districts of Odisha. The round will be undertaken from March 07, 2022 following all COVID-19 protocols. The trained health workers will visit every house-hold between 07 to 16 March 2022 in 7 districts are Bargarh, Keonjhar, Kandhamal, Mayurbhanj, Sonepur, Sundargarh and Sambalpur”.
“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 that “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 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. He urged Health department to provide necessary health services to the patients and move towards a Hydrocele-free district by conducting surgeries in a camp mode.” He Further mentioned that “Filariasis cannot be eliminated solely with the work of the government, we need combined community action and compliance.” and appealed to the masses to make LF elimination a Jan Andolan.
Nearly 36172 trained Drug Administrators, 3886 Supervisors have been deployed across 7 districts. The targeted beneficiaries in these districts are 10739274.
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.
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