New Delhi, April 15 (IANS): The Delhi government on Wednesday launched a statewide campaign to deworm the children in schools and anganwadis.

The campaign aims to cover over 3,032 schools and 11,500 anganwadis as part of the deworming process on April 16 and a mop-up day is scheduled for April 20 to cover all those children who were absent on Wednesday.

World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics show that parasitic worms are a significant public health concern for India, with 241 million children aged between one and 14 at risk.

The programme is the third mass deworming round in the capital city since 2012. The current round targets 3.7 million children.

"Over 25 percent of the children in Delhi are suffering from worm infestations. These worms act as parasites and suck up all the nutrition.

"I am happy that we are launching this programme across Delhi, wherein administration of just one drug dose will help in being worm free and healthy," said Delhi's Health Minister Satyendra Jain during the launch of the programme.

He also said that the Delhi government was aiming to start the programme in private schools, once the administration is done with the government schools.

Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda recently declared February 10, 2015 as the National Deworming Day (NDD). Delhi is holding this deworming round in April as the state elections were being held during the National Deworming Day.

Subodh Kumar Mishra, the director of the School Health Scheme, on Wednesday said: "School level mass based deworming programme is a commendable initiative by the Delhi Government. This programme will not only help children get dewormed, but will also help to address other issues like anaemia and malnutrition in growing."

India has the highest burden of soil-transmitted helminths -- parasitic worms -- in the world. Parasitic worms in children interfere with nutrient uptake, and can contribute to anaemia, malnourishment and impaired mental and physical development.