New Delhi: India is committed to eliminating Lymphatic filariasis by 2027, three years ahead of the global target through a multi-partner and multi-sector targeted drive, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Thursday (August 10). Minister Mandaviya inaugurated the second phase of the Annual Nationwide Mass Drug Administration (MDA) initiative here on Thursday. The Union minister said,
Through Jan Bhagidaari and Whole of Government and Whole of Society approach, we shall be able to eliminate this disease from the country.
The second phase of the drive, commencing on August 10, will cover 81 districts in nine endemic states – Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.
Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister TS Singh Deo and his counterpart in Uttar Pradesh Brijesh Pathak, Odisha Health Minister Niranjan Pujari and his counterparts in Assam Keshab Mahanta and Banna Gupta in Jharkhand joined the inauguration virtually. Addressing the gathering, Minister Mandaviya said,
Efforts must not be limited to taking medicines but also aid in eliminating the spread of diseases via mosquitoes, without which progress to achieve our goal will be significantly restricted.
The Union minister also laid stress on enhancing synergy between the state and central governments to ensure a healthier nation.
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Enumerating the success of ‘Jan Andolan’ movements in health by citing the example of Ni-kshay Mitra among others, Minister Mandaviya said,
Community engagement will contribute significantly in garnering success in this mission by the involvement of all stakeholders starting from the grassroots level.
Underscoring the wide reach of mass movements, the Union health minister added,
Incorporating awareness generation and ensuring communication campaigns at villages, panchayats will galvanise the movement leading to wide reach across the nation.
To further strengthen efforts, Minister Mandaviya advocated for greater emphasis on the consumption of medicine in front of healthcare workers or professionals as a measure of eradicating this disease.
The occasion witnessed the launch of the national guidelines for clinical management of dengue fever and chikungunya fever.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – theLGBTQ population,indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the currentCOVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water,SanitationandHygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fightmalnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health,adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues likeair pollution,waste management,plastic ban,manual scavengingand sanitation workers andmenstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India wheretoiletsare used andopen defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched byPrime Minister Narendra Modiin 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
