From February 10, the MDA programme will be conducted in 14 districts Bokaro, Deoghar, Dhanbad, East Singhbhum, Garhwa, Giridih, Gumla, Koderma, Lohardaga, Pakur, Ramgarh, Ranchi, Sahibganj and Simdega.
According to a UNI report, the programme will cover 87 identified blocks and 14,496 villages, targeting approximately 1.75 crore people. Anti-filarial drugs will be administered under the supervision of trained health personnel.
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To address operational challenges, the state has taken several initiatives. A total of 215 functional Morbidity Management and Disability Prevention (MMDP) clinics are providing treatment to lymphoedema patients. Disability certificates have been issued to 5,053 patients, while 1,714 high-priority villages have been identified.
At the grassroots level, 230 MDA Mission Squads have been formed at the panchayat level with the participation of 289 community volunteers. For effective monitoring, a control room has been established at the state headquarters with real-time tracking through Google Sheets.
In this regard, an important meeting of the State Task Force was held at Nepal House under the chairmanship of Ajoy Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare Department.
The meeting reviewed strategies, challenges and the roles of various departments for the upcoming MDA drive. Discussions were also held on prevention and control of other vector-borne diseases, including malaria, dengue, chikungunya, kala-azar and Japanese encephalitis.
It was highlighted that filariasis is a serious parasitic disease transmitted through mosquitoes. Globally, 72 countries are affected by lymphatic filariasis, with nearly 88.8 crore people at risk, reports UNI.
In India, around six lakh lymphoedema cases and two lakh hydrocele cases have been identified so far. In Jharkhand alone, 57,436 lymphoedema patients have already been registered, prompting the state government to adopt a mission-mode approach for disease elimination.
Chairing the meeting, Ajoy Kumar Singh stressed that the focus of MDA should not only be on drug distribution but on ensuring actual consumption of medicines.
He stated that filariasis can be eliminated from Jharkhand if all eligible community members consume the prescribed drugs once a year for five consecutive years.
He urged all departments to treat the campaign as a people’s movement and to intensify awareness through extensive outreach and communication efforts.
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