The second phase of the Mass Drug Administration (MDA) campaign in Odisha aimed at eliminating filaria will begin on August 10 (Sunday) and continue until August 19. During this period, 1.7 crore people will receive anti-filarial drugs.
The campaign will take place in the districts of Angul, Balasore, Bargarh, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Jharsuguda, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sambalpur, Sonepur, and Sundargarh, alongside the second round of the National Deworming Program (NDD) activities.
This initiative will be implemented across 115 operational units within these 12 districts. Under the MDA campaign, three types of tablets will be provided: DEC (Diethylcarbamazine), Albendazole, and Ivermectin. However, children under 2 years of age, pregnant women, and severely ill individuals will be excluded from taking these medications.
A total of 41,000 Drug Administrators have been deployed to manage the implementation of this program, supervised by 4,100 other supervisors, as announced in a recent press conference. Drug Administrators will include ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, self-help group members, and other volunteers. They will visit each household to ensure that residents take the MDA medicines on the spot. The goal is for at least 90% of the population to consume the medication in front of these administrators.
The press conference featured key health officials, including Dr. Amarendra Nath Mohanty, Director of Health Services; Dr. Neelakantha Mishra, Director of Public Health; Dr. Dilip Kumar Panda, Director of the State Institute of Health & Family Welfare; Dr. Rajyashree Pattnaik, Director of Family Welfare; and Dr. Suchitra Sasmal, Senior Regional Director, among others.
To ensure the success of the MDA campaign, the Odisha Government has requested cooperation from various departments, including Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water, School and Mass Education, Higher Education, Mission Shakti, Women and Child Development, Industries, Steel and Mines, Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste Development, Minority Affairs, Backward Class Welfare, and Housing and Urban Development.
