A delegation led by Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares conducted today (Tuesday, February 10, 2015), which had been declared National Deworming Day in India, field visits to schools in Jaipur, India to witness first-hand the administration of Albendazole pills to children aged 1 to 19 years in government schools and anganwadi centres (government-sponsored child-care and mother-care centers in India). The delegation interacted with school teachers and anganwadi workers administering the drugs, as well as children, parents and school administrators. The National Deworming Day in India, which is the largest single-day school-based deworming effort in the world, is an initiative focused on reducing the threat of parasitic worm, a widespread health issue affecting over 241 million children in India.
This field visit comes a day after the delegation attended the official launch of India's National Deworming Program which took place on Monday, February 9, 2015 in Jaipur, India. Dubai Cares had announced a contribution of AED 11 million (USD 3 million) for 4 years towards the national school-based deworming program by the Government of India. Dubai Cares' involvement in this program is in partnership with Evidence Action's Deworm the World Initiative - an initiative that tackles worm infections, anemia and malnourishment amongst children - to support transformational change in health and nutrition amongst children in India. As part of its contribution, Dubai Cares will support Evidence Action over the course of four years to partner with national and state governments in developing national deworming guidelines and communications campaigns, determine prevalence survey guidelines to assess the impact of deworming, and provide technical assistance for state scale-up.