The National Vitamin A-plus campaign will be conducted on Sunday (Jun 17) with a target to feed over 2.20 crore children aged six months to 59 months vitamin A-plus capsule to prevent childhood blindness and reduce child mortality in the country, local media reported citing the health ministry sources. 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.
Under the campaign, children aged between six months and 11 months will be given vitamin A-plus capsule with blue color while children aged between 12 and 59 months were administered vitamin A-plus with red color on the day, the sources said.
At a function held recently, Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque urged the people to feed their children vitamin A-plus capsule 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 programme," he said. 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 but now only 0.01 per cent children suffer from blindness problem, Maleque said.
According to the health ministry, a total of 40,000 health workers have been attached at 1.12 lakh centres to make the campaign a success.
Vitamin A deficiency is a serious threat to both mother and child health, they said, adding that the impact of vitamin A deficiency is not only limited to blindness but it also increases death risk by causing various diseases.
