Deworming Programme
As per World Health Organization (WHO) database (2012), it is estimated that 241 million children (68%) between the ages of 1 – 14 years in India are at risk of parasitic intestinal worms.
In 2015, the Government of India launched National Deworming Day in 11 States/UT with a target of 10.31 crore children between ages of 1 – 19 years, against which a total of 8.98 crore children received deworming tablet (Albendazole), during the National Deworming Day 2015 with 85 percent coverage. State/UT wise details are given below:
| Coverage for National Deworming Day (2015) | ||||
| S. N. | State / UT | Target No. of children targeted | No. of children covered | Percent Coverage |
| 1 | Assam | 72,43,398 | 41,70,211 | 58 % |
| 2 | Bihar | 2,04,38,215 | 1,87,18,184 | 92 % |
| 3 | Chhattisgarh | 9,78,008 | 9,16,596 | 94 % |
| 4 | Dadra Nagar Haveli | 1,15,097 | 1,09,317 | 95 % |
| 5 | Haryana | 29,04,534 | 25,59,886 | 88 % |
| 6 | Karnataka | 85,49,700 | 74,92,685 | 88 % |
| 7 | Madhya Pradesh | 2,08,51,407 | 1,84,90,500 | 89 % |
| 8 | Maharashtra | 1,31,86,599 | 1,24,59,894 | 95 % |
| 9 | Rajasthan | 1,31,74,518 | 1,11,75,137 | 85 % |
| 10 | Tamil Nadu | 1,40,32,770 | 1,26,73,933 | 90 % |
| 11 | Tripura | 16,55,313 | 10,75,434 | 65 % |
| Pooled Coverage | 10,31,29,559 | 8,98,41,777 | 85 % | |
In 2016, the Government of India has launched National Deworming Day which has been observed on 10th February 2016 across the States/UTs, with the target of covering approximately 27 crore children.State/UT wise details are given below:
National Deworming Day 2016
| Name of State/UT | No. of children targeted |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 106891 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 10500000 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 529580 |
| Assam | 10028003 |
| Bihar | 43561977 |
| Chandigarh | 252786 |
| Chattisgarh | 2360937 |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 118372 |
| Daman & Diu | 38690 |
| Delhi | 3594400 |
| Goa | 326378 |
| Gujarat | 5046955 |
| Haryana | 2853093 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 2314011 |
| Jammu Kashmir | 5310784 |
| Jharkhand | 12685756 |
| Karnataka | 14963173 |
| Kerala | 7602314 |
| Lakshadweep | 19000 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 15101901 |
| Maharashtra | 14947315 |
| Manipur | 1067247 |
| Meghalaya | 1166350 |
| Mizoram | 258463 |
| Nagaland | 851659 |
| Odisha | 16800000 |
| Puducherry | 437418 |
| Punjab | 9500000 |
| Rajasthan | 24968744 |
| Sikkim | 197518 |
| Tamil Nadu | 24317457 |
| Telangana | 8100000 |
| Tripura | 1084575 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 10500408 |
| Uttarakhand | 2292603 |
| West Bengal | 16032263 |
| Total | 269837021 |
placed at annexure II.
The Government of India is seeking technical assistance from WHO and an international organisation, namely, “Evidence Action, Deworm the World Initiative” for the effective implementation of National Deworming Day.
The Health Minister, Shri J P Nadda stated this in a written reply in the LokSabha here today.
Source Ministry of Health and Family Welfare 26-February, 2016