KATHMANDU: The government is launching a nationwide campaign to administer vitamin ‘A’ supplements to around 2.2 million children on Saturday and Sunday as part of the National Vitamin ‘A’ Program, according to the Ministry of Health and Population.
Children between the ages of 6 months and 59 months will receive vitamin ‘A’ capsules, while approximately 1.9 million children aged one to five years will also be given deworming medicine (Balvita) on the same day. Health officials will additionally conduct malnutrition screenings as part of the effort.
To ensure the success of the program, nearly 52,000 female community health volunteers and 15,000 health workers will be mobilized across the country.
Launched in 1993 in eight districts, the National Vitamin ‘A’ Program was expanded nationwide by 2002. The deworming program, which began in 13 districts in 1999, has also been implemented nationwide since 2010. Children have been receiving vitamin ‘A’ regularly since 2007.
The government provides vitamin ‘A’ and deworming tablets for free every year in the Nepali months of Kartik and Baisakh as part of its ongoing child health and nutrition initiatives.
Comment