DHAKA: National Vitamin-A Plus campaign is being observed across the country Saturday (December 23), to feed the children a life-saving capsule.

Under the campaign, over 2.21 crore children aged between six months to 59 months will be fed the vitamin capsule to prevent childhood blindness and reduce child mortality.

The children aged between six months and 11 months will be given capsule with blue color while children aged between 12 and 59 months will be administered with red color capsule.

In Rajshahi, Mayor Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul opened the campaign, at the Nagar Bhaban early in the morning. Around 3.5 lakh children have been targeted to feed the capsule in Rajshahi.

In Sylhet, Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury launched the campaign at a vaccination center in Kumar Para area of the city, at around 8:00am. The target for Sylhet is 63,088 children this time. 

Earlier, Health and Family Welfare Minister Mohammad Nasim inaugurated the campaign at Dhaka Shishu Hospital on Thursday (December 21).

Health workers and volunteers will feed the vitamin-A Plus capsules from 1.20 lakh permanent and 20 thousand mobile centers across the country which will remain open from 8 am to 4 pm.

Less than one percent children now suffer from blindness problem while the percentage of blindness for vitamin A deficiency was 3.74 in 1974, according to health experts.

The impact of vitamin-A deficiency is not limited to only blindness, the experts said adding it increases death risk by causing various diseases.

BDST: 1207 HRS, DEC 23, 2017
SI