The Vitamin A Plus campaign has commenced across the country, aiming to administer Vitamin A capsules to approximately 25.5 million children aged between six and 59 months.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain inaugurated the four-day programme on Sunday morning at Shaheed Abu Sayed Convention Hall of Bangladesh Medical University in Dhaka.
During the inauguration, Sakhawat said special measures have been implemented to ensure no child is left behind. He clarified that any child unable to receive the capsule on the first day can be fed during the subsequent three days of the campaign.
The health minister further informed that the government currently holds a stock of 26 million red and blue Vitamin A capsules. Responding to media queries regarding the quality of the capsules, he assured that the capsules brought into the country through United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) after undergoing rigorous quality testing in international laboratories.
The health minister said the quality of this year’s capsules is excellent. He urged parents to bring their children to the designated centres to protect them from blindness, measles, and various other preventable diseases.
The ceremony was attended by Health Secretary Kamruzzaman Chowdhury, Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services Dr Pravath Chandra Biswas, and Additional Directors General Dr Zahid Raihan and Dr Foara Tasmim, Director of the Institute of Public Health Nutrition Dr Mohammad Yusuf Ali, along with other officials.
