Union Secretary for Health & Family Welfare, Shri Rajesh Bhushan launched a nationwide Mass Drug Administration (MDA) campaign aimed at ending disease transmission through the door-to-door administration of anti-filarial drugs, especially in 10 filaria affected states. This launch comes a month after the program received resounding support from the Hon’ble Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya to eliminate Filariasis by 2027, three years ahead of the global target.
High-burden districts in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh jointly launched the campaign today. India has ramped up efforts in eliminating Lymphatic Filariasis a Vector Borne Disease caused by Culex mosquitoes which causes disability well ahead of global targets to safeguard communities from disability, social and economic insecurity. Government of India has already unveiled a renewed five-pronged strategy for elimination of LF as shown in the figure below.
While launching the campaign, Shri Rajesh Bhushan said that “collective action is required to tackle LF.” He guided all the states to focus on Directly Observed Therapy rather than distribution of the drugs. He emphasized focusing on intensive monitoring at block level. He also pointed out the need for daily analyses of coverage and monitoring reports at all the levels besides monitoring of the monitors to ensure quality data. He suggested that good practices from states can be taken up by other states too, this will help in tackling LF efficiently. As India gears up to eliminate Filaria by 2027, the timing is perfect to resonate this aim with the Sustainable Development Goals which aims to end all forms of hunger and disability / morbidity.
Shri Bhushan also interacted with the Principal Secretaries and Mission Directors of National Health Mission (NHM) from participating states who shared updates of their preparedness and commitment to ensuring the success of the campaign.