The National Vitamin A Plus Campaign set to be held across Bangladesh today (28 June), with the government aiming to administer vitamin A capsules to more than 2.4 crore children aged between six months and 59 months.
The campaign, jointly organised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and UNICEF Bangladesh, will run from 8am to 4pm through approximately 120,000 permanent centres and 500 temporary centres set up at busy locations, including bus terminals and ferry ghats.
Children aged 6 to 11 months will receive one blue vitamin A capsule, while those aged 12 to 59 months will be given one red high-potency vitamin A capsule. Trained health workers and volunteers will carry out the nationwide programme.
To ensure no eligible child is left behind, the government will also conduct a four-day child-to-child search campaign in 714 wards across 290 unions in 58 upazilas of 12 remote districts following the main campaign.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain will formally inaugurate the campaign at the Abu Sayeed Convention Centre in Shahbagh this morning. State Minister for Health and Family Welfare MA Muhit and the Prime Minister's Special Assistant SM Ziauddin Haider are expected to attend the inaugural event.
At the district and upazila levels, local lawmakers and administrative officials will launch the campaign, while Civil Surgeons and Upazila Health and Family Planning Officers will oversee implementation and monitoring through their respective teams.
Speaking ahead of the campaign, State Minister MA Muhit described the programme as vital for improving children's health, boosting immunity and reducing deaths linked to malnutrition.
He urged parents to take all children aged between six months and five years to the nearest campaign centre during campaign hours to ensure they receive the vitamin A capsule.
According to the health ministry, vitamin A supplementation helps prevent blindness caused by vitamin A deficiency, strengthens children's immune systems, protects against prolonged diarrhoea and lowers the risk of child mortality.
Bangladesh has been implementing nationwide vitamin A supplementation programmes since 1973 as part of its efforts to eliminate childhood blindness and combat malnutrition.
Vitamin A plus campaign / health
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