Delhi to de-worm 4 million school children

The state of Delhi is set to de-worm a whopping 4 million children on Feb. 21, in a bid to fight a pervasive health problem that causes childhood malnutrition, anaemia, retarded mental development, slowed physical growth and reduced academic performance, according to the Hindustan Times.

Frankly, I don't know whether to be horrified or relieved.

According to the report, as many as one in six Delhi children are infested with worms as the result of unhygenic conditions…well…just about everywhere.

But getting rid of them is relatively easy, and it can have a big impact.

“It is the best way to immediately improve children’s quality of life. Delhi is the only state where the non-school going population is also being covered. The exercise is bigger than the pulse polio programme running in the state,” the Hindustan Times quotes Anshu Prakash, principal secretary (health), Delhi government, as saying.

None too soon, either. According to another report, nearly 26,000 kids in Delhi's government-run schools (the domain of the poor and underprivileged) are anemic.