The National Vitamin A-plus
campaign to be conducted on June 1 with a target to feed
vitamin A-plus capsules to over 2.22 crore children, aged
between six months and 59 months, to prevent childhood
blindness and reduce child mortality in the country.
‘Feeding Vitamin A capsules prevents blindness in children,
ensures normal growth, reduces all types of child mortality
by 24 percent and significantly reduces mortality from
measles, diarrhoea and pneumonia,” Director General of
Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Abul
Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam told a press briefing here
today.
The vitamin A plus campaign will be conducted later in
cyclone-hit coastal regions, he said.
Under the campaign, 27 lakh children, aged between six
months and 11 months, will be given blue-colored vitamin
A-plus capsules while 1.95 crore children, aged between 12
and 59 months, will be administered red-colored capsules on
the day.
Khurshid urged the people to feed vitamin A-plus capsule to
their chil
dren for ensuring that not a single child is left out of
getting the vitamin capsules.
‘We can cut 24 percent child mortality from the country
through successful implementation of the campaign,” he
added.
Blindness problem has reduced significantly in the country
due to feeding of vitamin A-plus capsules, he added.
After independence of the country, over 4 percent children
suffered from blindness for vitamin A deficiency, while now
only 0.01 per cent children suffer from blindness, the DGHS
DG added.
A total of 240,000 volunteers and 40,000 health workers will
work in the countrywide campaign to administer Vitamin A
capsules at all health complexes and mobile health centres
throughout the day, Khurshid said.
Vitamin A deficiency is a serious threat to both mother and
child’s health, health experts said, adding that the impact of
vitamin A deficiency is not only limited to blindness, but also
increases death risk by causing various diseases.
Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha