Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare SP Singh Baghel on Saturday launched the first phase of the bi-annual nationwide Mass Drug Administration (MDA) campaign for Lymphatic Filariasis elimination.
The campaign being undertaken by the Health ministry aims to check disease transmission by providing free preventive medications to the residents in areas affected by the disease. Its campaign will cover 92 districts spread across 11 states and will run for the next two weeks.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister reiterated India’s commitment to ending Lymphatic Filariasis by 2027, three years before the global target.
“India has shown immense resilience against some of the deadliest diseases in the world. Under the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and guidance of Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, we have seen significant success in the TB elimination program and are now on the verge of eliminating Kala- azar. These successes must be replicated for Filaria as well,” Baghel said.
Lauding the health care professionals, especially those working tirelessly to support the fight against the disease, the minister said, “We expect great success due to the launch of this bi-annual Mass Drug Administration. Last year, the coverage was 82.5 per cent whereas this year we should make greater efforts and try to achieve more than 95 per cent coverage of the eligible population.’’
He also urged to work in a mission mode approach with social mobilization and active community participation to ensure comprehensive sensitization with the help of the concerned departments such as Panchayati Raj, Education, Rural Development, Tribal Affairs, Urban Bodies and medical colleges to make it a “people’s movement”.
It may be mentioned that India has recently taken several measures to accelerate progress towards the goal of eliminating Lymphatic Filariasis.