AGARTALA, Feb 10 (TIWN): Although Tripura Govt claims that already 12 lakhs children, adolescents have brought under the Deworming mission, but after 2016’s bad experiences maximum number of students were absent in schools so that they can avoid the Deworming-tablet consuming episode. Atleast 500 students had fallen sick after they were administered de-worming tablets at Tripura schools in 2016. Panic-stricken parents and local residents staged protests on the hospital premises, following which security personnel were deployed. Health volunteers administered the dose to students in schools and educational institutions across the State as part of the national deworming campaign. At North Tripura many children left on the verge of death also. With the initiative of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare which was launched under the banner of the 'National Deworming Day-2016’ it was ordered to cover students under deworming tablet administering and following that schools were provide with deowrming tablets.

It was also mentioned that the treatment with a simple pill is universally recognized as a safe and cost effective solution. But the tablets left the children seriously ill and many remained affected for a long time after consuming the tablet. But what was the reason behind this incidents nobody knows. Nor the state govt set any special investigation arrangements against it. Rather via a press release it was said that it is quite natural that after consuming the tablets children may feel discomfort.

As a result students participation was less on this working day. National Deworming Day is a groundbreaking initiative focused on reducing the threat of parasitic worm infections, a widespread health issue affecting over 241 million children in India alone.

The National Deworming Day is observed on February 10 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and its main objective is to dewormchildren between the ages of (1-19) at schools and anganwadi centres.

According to WHO,  India has the highest burden of Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH) in the world, with 220 million children aged 1-14 estimated to be at risk of worm infections. Almost 7 in 10 children between 6 month and 5 years are anaemic, with even higher rates of anaemia in rural areas, the 2006 National Family Health Survey reported. 

But without following the basic rules before administering medicines, the students are provided with deworming tablets in Tripura. Before giving the tablets, whether a student has taken his / her lunch or not, it’s not also checked. As a result deworming mission has remained just as a thought rather than actual in Tripura.

Although the Govt claimed about 12 lakhs students active participation, but actual report says that a huge number of students were absent from taking deworming tablet.