Nationwide vitamin A-plus campaign kicks off

The National Vitamin A-plus campaign has started with a target to feed over 2.20 crore children aged six months to 59 months vitamin A-plus capsules to prevent childhood blindness and reduce child mortality in the country.

Under the campaign, children aged between six months and 11 months will be given vitamin A-plus capsules with blue colour while children aged between 12 and 59 months were administered vitamin A-plus with red colour on the day, Health Minister Zahid Maleque informed recently.

Feeding Vitamin A capsules prevents blindness in children, ensures normal growth, reduces all types of child mortality by 24 per cent and significantly reduces mortality from measles, diarrhoea and pneumonia, according to health ministry sources.

At a function held recently, the health minister urged the people to feed their children vitamin A-plus capsules for ensuring that not a single child is left out of getting the vitamin capsules.

"We can cut 24 per cent 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 the independence, over 4 per cent of children suffered from blindness for vitamin A deficiency but now only 0.01 per cent of 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. The impact of vitamin A deficiency is not only limited to blindness but it also increases death risk by causing various diseases.