Tamil Nadu to Hold Statewide Deworming Drive for 2.5 Crore People on August 10

The Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Government of Tamil Nadu, will conduct statewide special camps on August 10 to distribute deworming tablets to millions of residents. The drive, organized in connection with National Deworming Day, will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. across designated centres. The Health Department announced that the campaign aims to reach 2.06 crore children and adolescents aged one to 19 years, as well as 52.44 lakh women aged 20 to 30 years.

The special distribution camps will be set up at 54,481 anganwadis, 11,723 health sub-centres, and 56,483 schools across the state. To ensure that no targeted individual is missed during the drive, the Health Department stated in a press release that additional special camps will be conducted on August 17 to cover anyone who was left out during the initial August 10 effort. These special camps are conducted annually by the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in February and August to administer deworming medication.

Dosages at the camps will be distributed according to age. Children aged between one and two years will receive half an Albendazole tablet, equivalent to 200 mg. Meanwhile, children and adolescents aged two to 19 years, along with women aged 20 to 30 years, will receive one full 400 mg tablet. The Health Department press release noted that the Albendazole tablets are completely safe, effectively eliminate intestinal worms, and help prevent both anaemia and nutritional deficiencies among recipients.

To facilitate the smooth execution of the mass program, tens of thousands of health workers and educators have been deployed across the state. The drive will involve 54,481 anganwadi workers, 59,700 school and college teachers, 6,543 doctors, 12,456 village health nurses, and 2,650 accredited social health activists. The Health Department has issued a request to all parents to make full use of these special camps and ensure their children are effectively protected against intestinal worm infections.