RANGPUR: Health experts at an advocacy meeting here called upon all concerned for making the weeklong de-worming campaign successful to ensure healthy growth of the children, reports BSS. They made the call at the advocacy meeting organised by Rangpur City Corporation (RpCC) at its hall room here on Monday to make the National Worm Control Week from April 1 successful.
Mayor of Rangpur Sarfuddin Ahmed Jhantu attended the meeting as the chief guest with Secretary of RpCC Rashedul Islam in the chair. Divisional Director (Health) Dr Mozammel Hossain, Civil Surgeon Dr Abu Md Zakirul Islam, Chief Heath Officer of RpCC Dr Kamruzzaman Ibne Taz and its Health Inspector Abdul Kaiyum addressed as special guests.
The City Councilors from all 33 wards, officials, health workers, supervisors and employees of RpCC, health assistants and volunteers of the health and family planning departments attended the meeting.
The Directorate of Health of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been extending assistance to the RpCC to make the weeklong de-worming campaign a success.
Under the programme, the RpCC authority will administer de-worming Albendazole tablets to 1.37 lakh school-going children aged between 5-16 years at 470 primary and secondary level schools, madrashas and kindergartens in the city from April 1 to 6 next. Dr Abu Md Zakirul Islam said that the students of the secondary level educational institutions would also be brought under the de-worming campaign for the first time this year with a view to building a worm-free society.
Dr Mozammel Hossain underscored the need for preventing higher rate of worm infections among the school-going children through ensuring their intake of de-worming tablets twice a year to avoid malnutrition. “The schoolchildren should be well-educated about importance of good hand-washing technique before taking meals to prevent spread of all communicable diseases and make them aware about essential health and hygiene factors,” he said.
Narrating the importance of de-worming, Mayor Jhantu called upon teachers, guardians, healthofficials, supervisors and volunteers to make the de-worming campaign successful for ensuring normal growth of the children for a healthier nation.