The National Vitamin A Plus Campaign began across Bangladesh on Sunday, with health authorities aiming to provide Vitamin A capsules to more than 24 million children under the age of five.
The programme started at 8:00 am and will continue until 4:00 pm at designated centres nationwide. The government has set a target of administering vitamin A capsules to around 24,036,022 children aged between six months and 59 months.
To improve coverage in hard-to-reach areas, a child-to-child search will be carried out for four days after the campaign in 714 wards across 290 unions in 58 upazilas spanning 12 districts.
The campaign is being organised by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with UNICEF Bangladesh. Children aged six to 11 months are receiving one blue Vitamin A capsule, while those aged 12 to 59 months are being given one high-potency red capsule.
The capsules are being distributed through around 120,000 permanent centres and 500 temporary centres set up in busy locations, including bus terminals and ferry ghats. Trained health workers and volunteers have been deployed to support the campaign.
State Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr MA Muhit said the National Vitamin A Plus Campaign plays an important role in helping children grow up healthy, strengthening their immunity and reducing the risk of deaths linked to malnutrition.
Civil surgeons and upazila health and family planning officers, supported by their respective teams, are overseeing the campaign at district and upazila levels. The ministry has also instructed officials to conduct field-level monitoring to ensure the programme is implemented effectively.
Vitamin A is considered essential for young children, as it helps prevent blindness associated with malnutrition, strengthens the immune system, reduces the risk of prolonged diarrhoea and lowers child mortality.
Bangladesh has been administering vitamin A capsules to children since 1973 as part of its efforts to eliminate childhood blindness and combat malnutrition.
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