NEW DELHI: In a move that will benefit over 27 crore children across the country, the health ministry has expanded its deworming programme to convert it into a national initiative seeking to cover as many as 536 districts over the next one year.
The programme was earlier limited to 277 districts in 11 high-burden states, and covered nine crore children in 2015. The government has decided to ramp up the programme, launched in February last year, owing to the huge burden of worm infection in India. Apart from the geographical expansion of the programme, the upgrade will also include an increase in the number of health workers and consultants involved in the initiative.
Parasitic worms, or soiltransmitted helminths (STH), are among the most common infections worldwide. Doctors say worms can cause anaemia, under-nutrition and can also lead to impairment of mental and physical development. It is also responsible for malnutrition, anaemia, overall development and recurrent abdomen pain.
India has the highest number of soil-transmitted helminths in the world, with over 22 crore children in the age group of 1-14 years at risk of worm infection. Globally, more than 1.5 billion people, or 24% of the world’s population, suffer from worm infection.
"In our country, worm infestation is a major problem because it contributes to persistent iron deficiency which in turn leads to poor brain development," said Dr Nishant Wadhwa, a paediatric gastroenterologist at Ganga Ram hospital.
According to Dr Wadhwa, most children in the first five years of life have less iron content, while this is the time when most of the brain development process takes place.
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