Lok Sabha Question No. 1046 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-22
Subject: Eradication of Filaria
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Talari Rangaiah, Bhartruhari Mahtab

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1046 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22-07-2022

## ERADICATION OF FILARIA

## 1046: DR. TALARI RANGAIAH SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

- a) whether the Government has set the target to eradicate filariasis by 2030 and if so, the details thereof along with the number of cases of Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) recorded since 2019 till date, State/UT and year wise including Odisha
- b) the  details  of  institutions/hospitals  working  for  treatment  of  the  disease  and  funds allocated/utilized for the same during the last five years, State/UT wise
- c) whether the Government proposes to start any national programme for the prevention, control  and  eradication  of  such  diseases  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  steps taken by the Government to create awareness about vector-borne diseases
- d) whether the Government constituted a team to monitor the prevention and treatment of  LF  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  targets  set  and  achieved  in  this regard
- e) whether the Government proposes to organize a Mass Drug Administration (MDA) drive to eliminate LF in the country and if so, the details thereof; and
- f) the  necessary  steps  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  government  to  create  mass awareness  about  the  benefits  of  Anti-Filarial  drug  to  eliminate  LF  along  with  the funds allocated and utilized for the same, State/UT wise

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

(DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR)

(a) & (b) Government of India has set the target to eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) by 2030 which is aligned with the WHO Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Road map. There are 328 districts in 20 States/UTs which are endemic for LF. The State/UT wise details of LF cases recorded since 2019 till date are mentioned in Annexure-1 .

No institutions/  hospitals  are  designated  only  for  treatment  of  LF.  Funds  are  allocated under the Programme Implementation Plan (PIP) of National Health Mission (NHM) in 20  endemic  States  for  service  delivery  in  district  hospitals  and  other  public  health facilities.  The  States/UTs  wise  funds  allocated/utilised  for  six  vector  borne  diseases including Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) under NHM for 20 LF endemic Sates/UTs during the last five years is given in Annexure-2 .

(c) National  Centre  for  Vector  Borne  Diseases  Control  (NCVBDC)  administers the  National  Vector  Borne  Disease  Control  Programme  (NVBDCP)  under  the  overall umbrella  of  NHM  which  is  responsible  for  six  vector  borne  diseases  including Lymphatic Filariasis.

Awareness  campaigns  for  VBDs  including  LF  are  conducted  at  National,  State  and District  levels.   For  creating  awareness  among  public  about  VBDs,  disease-specific 'days'  and  'months'  are  observed. For  example,  for  increasing  awareness  about Filariasis, the 'World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) Day 2022' was observed by illuminating  New  Delhi  Railway  Station  to  disseminate  messages  on  LF.  Gujarat, Jharkhand and Karnataka also observed similar events. For each Mass Drug Administration  campaign  social  mobilisation  is  done  through  miking,  pamphlets  and posters. Awareness, messages are disseminated through social media and press.

(d) The Elimination of Lymphatic Filarisis (ELF) is reviewed at the highest level. LF  indicators  are  part  of  Niti-Ayog  dashboard  which  are  reviewed  quarterly.  LF  Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are also reviewed as part of the NHM PIP process. States monitor the programme implementation as funds are allocated for monitoring. Field visits are also conducted for programme monitoring.

In 2022, 133 out of 328 LF endemic districts have achieved Microfilaria rate less than 1% (verified by Transmission Assessment Survey-1) and have stopped MDA.  During 2021 a total of 1,67,276 Morbidity Management Disability Prevention (MMDP) kits have been distributed and 38,382 hydroceletomies performed.

(e) Mass Drug Administration (MDA) is one of the key strategies for Elimination of  Lymphatic  Filariasis  (ELF).  Mass  Drug  Administration  (MDA)  was  adopted  as strategy for ELF in 2004 and the same is conducted annually.

(f) The Government has taken several steps to create mass awareness about the benefits  of  Anti-Filarial  drug  to  eliminate  LF.  Information  Education  Communication (IEC)/Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) activities are carried out through social media, Newspapers, Radio and Social Mobilization during MDA rounds. ASHAs work as drug administrators during MDA. During MDA  campaigns for awareness of communities, Posters and Banners are displayed at prominent places. Engagement with local print media, Social media campaigns, Inter- departmental coordination by engaging Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), Self Help Groups (SHGs), Teachers, Public Distribution System (PDS) members, religious leaders etc. are conducted to create mass awareness.

## Annexure-1

State/UT wise details of LF cases recorded since 2019 till date

|         |                           | 2019           | 2020           | 2021 (P)       |
|---------|---------------------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
| Sl. No. | States/UTs                | Total LF cases | Total LF cases | Total LF cases |
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh            | 40586          | 41467          | 42343          |
| 2       | Telangana                 | 65953          | 67302          | 69151          |
| 3       | Assam                     | 1608           | 1485           | 1349           |
| 4       | Bihar                     | 63216          | 178657         | 109536         |
| 5       | Chhattisgarh              | 12857          | 10674          | 10261          |
| 6       | Goa                       | 108            | 96             | 87             |
| 7       | Gujarat                   | 2826           | 2601           | 2335           |
| 8       | Jharkhand                 | 67486          | 70290          | 105909         |
| 9       | Karnataka                 | 16260          | 16562          | 15638          |
| 10      | Kerala                    | 1765           | 331            | 18093          |
| 11      | Madhya Pradesh            | 5587           | 4841           | 4713           |
| 12      | Maharashtra               | 50493          | 55116          | 42032          |
| 13      | Odisha                    | 107115         | 106624         | 99907          |
| 14      | Tamil Nadu                | 26323          | 25993          | 24204          |
| 15      | Uttar Pradesh             | 120402         | 105951         | 109348         |
| 16      | West Bengal               | 70894          | 70894          | 50688          |
| 17      | Puducherry                | 64             | 31             | 981            |
| 18      | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 107            | 69             | 107            |
| 19      | Daman &Diu                | 98             | 165            | 144            |
| 19      | Dadra and Nagar Haveli    | 67             | 165            | 144            |
| 20      | Lakshadweep               | 198            | 198            | 22             |

## Annexure-2 States/UTs wise funds allocated/utilised for Vector Borne Diseases (VBDs)

| Sl. N o.   | States/UT s    | 2017-18    | 2017-18   | 2018-19     | 2018-19   | 2019-20     | 2019-20   | 2020-21     | 2020-21   | 2021-22     | 2021-22   |
|------------|----------------|------------|-----------|-------------|-----------|-------------|-----------|-------------|-----------|-------------|-----------|
| Sl. N o.   | States/UT s    | Allocai on | Relea se  | Allocati on | Relea se  | Allocati on | Relea se  | Allocati on | Relea se  | Allocati on | Relea se  |
| 1          | Andhra Pradesh | 910        | 676       | 1042        | 1076      | 4879        | 107       | 603         | 488       | 708         | 2321      |
| 2          | Assam          | 2335       | 5199      | 2548        | 1591      | 3487        | 2027      | 628         | 4013      | 1499        | 1572      |
| 3          | Bihar          | 3674       | 2659      | 1795        | 1086      | 328         | 300       | 4026        | 4023      | 3298        | 773       |
| 4          | Chhattisga rh  | 3365       | 13300     | 1086        | 4296      | 652         | 1752      | 1087        | 942       | 12419       | 7781      |
| 5          | Goa            | 107        | 52        | 165         | 65        | 304         | 93        | 48          | 0         | 62          | 24        |
| 6          | Gujarat        | 1259       | 954       | 1313        | 1102      | 292         | 1539      | 163         | 0         | 784         | 1831      |
| 7          | Jharkhand      | 3371       | 14489     | 1904        | 5775      | 2921        | 3482      | 2512        | 1763      | 10405       | 12457     |
| 8          | Karnataka      | 970        | 210       | 1232        | 376       | 909         | 196       | 402         | 107       | 719         | 1203      |
| 9          | Kerala         | 509        | 499       | 687         | 528       | 160         | 102       | 225         | 155       | 315         | 260       |
| 10         | Madhya Pradesh | 1657       | 2364      | 20413       | 5237      | 14734       | 15007     | 448         | 376       | 1262        | 244       |
| 11         | Maharasht ra   | 706        | 767       | 1105        | 572       | 223         | 101       | 469         | 536       | 729         | 365       |
| 12         | Odisha         | 10177      | 28529     | 995         | 191       | 879         | 200       | 21361       | 21143     | 2115        | 361       |
| 13         | Tamil Nadu     | 1411       | 1690      | 884         | 694       | 990         | 113       | 321         | 368       | 340         | 384       |
| 14         | Telangana      | 628        | 667       | 1549        | 1340      | 629         | 74        | 179         | 91        | 492         | 261       |
| 15         | Uttar Pradesh  | 3344       | 1583      | 3351        | 3823      | 1555        | 2725      | 3176        | 3914      | 2960        | 3220      |
| 16         | West Bengal    | 1600       | 1282      | 1808        | 1136      | 95          | 688       | 1385        | 1371      | 1296        | 1249      |
| 17         | Puducherr y    | 52         | 97        | 205         | 72        | 258         | 220       | 140         | 13        | 40          | 15        |
| 18         | A&N Islands    | 373        | 296       | 396         | 27        | 275         | 253       | 250         | 170       | 30          | 9         |
| 19         | D&N Haveli     | 100        | 102       | 147         | 253       | 101         | 76        |             |           |             |           |
| 19         | Daman& Diu     | 66         | 35        | 103         | 61        | 70          | 45        | 153         | 110       | 87          | 71        |
| 20         | Lakshadw eep   | 41         | 20        | 64          | 37        | 3           | 10        | 25          | 25        | 8           | 3         |

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