Filaria Elimination: 2nd Phase Mass Drug Administration (MDA) Programme will starts from August 10

Bhubaneswar, 05/08/2025:2nd Phase Mass Drug Administration (MDA) campaign will commence from August 10 (Sunday) to eliminate filaria. Under this programme, 1.7 crore people will be administered anti-filarial drugs. According to the schedule, the campaign will be carried out from August 10 to 19 in the districts of Angul, Balasore, Bargarh, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Jharsuguda, Jajpur, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sambalpur, Sonepur, and Sundargarh, alongside the second round of the National Deworming Program (NDD) activities

This programme will be implemented across 115 operational units in these 12 districts. Under the MDA campaign, three types of tablets — DEC (Diethylcarbamazine), Albendazole, and Ivermectin — will be provided for consumption. However, children below 2 years of age, pregnant women, and severely ill individuals will be excluded from taking the medication.
A total of 41,000 Drug Administrators have been deployed for the implementation of this programme, and their work will be monitored by 4,100 supervisors, as informed in a press conference organized by the department.
ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, self-help group members, and other volunteers have been identified as Drug Administrators. They will visit each household and ensure that people take the MDA medicines on the spot. The target is to ensure at least 90% of the population consumes the medication in front of the drug administrators. Active cooperation and coordination among various departments are essential to achieve this goal.

The press conference was attended by Dr. Amarendra Nath Mohanty, Director of Health Services, Dr. Neelakantha Mishra, Director of Public Health, Dr. Dilip Kumar Panda, Director of State Institute of Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Rajyashree Pattnaik, Director of Family Welfare, Dr. Suchitra Sasmal, Senior Regional Director, Dr. Prabhakar Sahu, Additional Director VBD, Dr. Pramila Baral, Additional Director, PH Shubhashisha Mohanty, Joint Director VBD along with other departmental officers and representatives from electronic and print media.

To ensure the success of the MDA campaign, the Odisha Government has requested cooperation from various departments, including Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water, School and Mass Education, Higher Education, Mission Shakti, Women and Child Development, Industries, Steel and Mines, Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste Development, Minority Affairs and Backward Class Welfare, Housing and Urban Development, and others.