Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Saturday launched the National Deworming initiative to reduce the threat of parasitic worm infections in children. <br/><br/>During the programme, Albendazole tablets were orally administered to pre-school and school-going children who are is the age group of 1 to 19 years. <br/><br/>Any child not dewormed on Saturday due to absenteeism or sickness, will be dewormed on mop-up day, 15th of this month. <br/><br/>Speaking on the occasion, Mr Nadda said, government is aiming to reach more than ''''''''32 crore children for this round of National Deworming Day. <br/><br/>He said, the initiative ensures prevention of cognitive disability as well as decreasing the school drop-out rate of children by improving overall health of the children. <br/><br/>The Minister said, a worm-free India can be true only if all the stakeholders join hands to make this program a success. <br/><br/>He said, government is committed to ensuring high quality healthcare, accessible to every child and upto the last mile. <br/><br/>He said, National Deworming Day, is one of the largest public health initiatives in the world.