Punjab

Population At-Risk Of Intestinal Worms

# of at-risk districts	School-Age Children Population
5	3,018,203

abc STH prevalence = or over 20%

abc STH prevalence under 20%

Background

The Punjab Deworming Initiative was launched in 2020 under the stewardship of a Working Group notified by the Planning and Development Board Punjab, with representation from key provincial stakeholders of Primary & Secondary Healthcare (P&SH) Department including Policy & Strategic Planning Unit (PSPU) and IRMNCH & NP, Directorate General Health Services (DGHS) and School Education Department (SED).

The initiative operates via a school-based model in the five at-risk districts of Attock, Chakwal, Gujrat, Jhelum, and Rawalpindi. While the District Education Authorities are engaged in sharing an updated database of school-aged children and ensuring smooth implementation of training as well as reverse reporting of treatment coverage data, the District Health Authorities ensure prompt management of any adverse events throughout the campaign and provide technical expertise including but not limited to all medical aspects.

The first round of the Punjab Deworming Initiative has been successfully carried out from 27th September 2021 to 2nd October 2021.

The second round of deworming of Punjab Deworming Initiative was successfully carried out from 27-28 November 2022 with a mop up day on 2nd December 2022.

Key Achievements 2022

The programmatic achievements for the Punjab Deworming Initiative can be determined by the targets achieved to date, stakeholders successfully engaged and a strong commitment shown by the Punjab government to allocate funding and resources for the initiative.