Health Secretary chairs steering body meeting of deworming initiative

PESHAWAR: The Steering Committee meeting of the deworming initiative was convened on Wednesday at the Health Secretariat’s committee room in the chairmanship of Health Secretary Mahmood Aslam Wazir. The meeting saw the participation of key officials from various government departments and organizations including Planning and Development, Planning Cell, Health Department, Directorate General Health Services, Elementary and Secondary Education, Private Schools Regulatory Authority, Local Government, Afghan Commissionerate, Elementary and Secondary Education Foundation, Rescue 1122, IRD Pakistan, and AVI Dance Action. Secretary Health highlighted the government’s commitment to addressing the challenges and risks posed by intestinal worms among school-going children in the next three years. It was revealed during the meeting that approximately 12 million children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have already been administered deworming medication, with an additional 850,000 children set to receive effective and safe deworming medication in October this year.
The meeting outlined the goal of protecting over 850,000 children aged 5 to 14 years from intestinal worms in 22 districts of the province.
This target includes children from both public and private schools.
To achieve this goal, over 40,000 teachers and medical practitioners are mobilized annually.
It was announced that training for practitioners will commence in September based on various grading, with the deworming campaign set to be launched in October.
Secretary Health emphasized that the Deworming Initiative has become a part of the Annual Development Plan for the next three years, reflecting a positive and encouraging outlook.