Ranchi buzzed with purpose as Jharkhand’s Health Minister Dr. Irfan Ansari spearheaded the launch of a comprehensive filariasis elimination program. The Thursday event saw the minister and Additional Chief Secretary Ajay Kumar Singh take the lead by ingesting anti-filarial drugs, followed by the send-off of promotional chariots to 14 priority districts.
An informative workshop capped the proceedings, focusing on awareness and execution tactics. Dr. Ansari rallied the public, vowing state-wide elimination by 2029 through relentless door-to-door drug administration. He implored residents to embrace the treatment fearlessly, noting successes in nine districts where the disease has been vanquished.
Singh echoed the call, describing filariasis as a fully preventable scourge that mass participation can obliterate. Shashi Prakash Jha, the campaign’s director, highlighted sanitation, anti-stagnation efforts, and bed nets as essential pillars of prevention.
The gathering included National Health Mission leaders, WHO experts, medical professionals, nurses, and grassroots representatives. This unified front positions Jharkhand at the forefront of public health innovation. As chariots traverse rural paths and urban lanes, the campaign promises not just medicine, but empowerment through education, aiming to rewrite the state’s health narrative for generations to come.