TN Health Minister Launches Mass Deworming Camp in Shenoy Nagar

Health Minister KG Arunraj inaugurated a special state-wide deworming camp at Chennai Girls Higher Secondary School in Shenoy Nagar on Monday to mark National Deworming Day. As part of the event, the minister distributed deworming tablets to students at the school, launching a health drive across Tamil Nadu.

The special camps were organized across the state, reaching a total of 2.06 crore children and adolescents between the ages of 1 and 19 years. In addition to targeting young people, the drive provided deworming tablets to 52.44 lakh women in the age bracket of 20 to 30 years.

The state-wide initiative was carried out across a network of educational and public health facilities. The camps were held in 54,481 anganwadi centres, 11,723 sub-health centres, and 56,483 schools across Tamil Nadu.

To manage the distribution across all locations, a large team of healthcare personnel and educators was mobilized. According to an official release, the drive involved 54,481 anganwadi workers, 59,700 school teachers and college professors, 6,543 doctors, 12,456 village health nurses, and 2,650 ASHA workers, alongside health department personnel.

During the event, the health minister also released an awareness video covering the topics of deworming and breastfeeding. The release was held in commemoration of World Breastfeeding Day, which is observed from August 1 to August 7.