The National Vitamin A-plus campaign was conducted across the country on Saturday with feeding over 2.26 crore children under 5-year age to prevent childhood blindness and reduce child mortality.
At the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, its vice-chancellor Professor Dr Md Shahinul Alam inaugurated the vitamin A plus campaign on the university campus in Dhaka.
Besides, the campaign was held in districts, including Rangamati, Khagrachari, Sirajganj, Naogaon, Thakurgaon and Patuakhali.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is determined to eliminate malnutrition and ensure good health of all children in the country, according to Directorate General of Health Services.
To this end, about 2.26 crore children aged between six and 59 months were fed vitamin A capsules through 1, 20,000 permanent EPI centres across the country.
All parents and guardians, who have children aged between six months and five years, were urged to take their children to the nearest EPI vaccination centre, community clinic and other healthcare centres to feed vitamin A capsules.
Due to the nationwide Vitamin A plus campaign, the rate of malnutrition in Bangladesh has decreased and child and maternal mortality has decreased significantly.
After the country鈥檚 independence, the rate of night blindness among the children due to malnutrition was 4.10 per cent. In 1974, the night blindness prevention programme was taken up and children started being fed vitamin A capsules.
Later, as a result of continuing to feed vitamin A, the number of children suffering from night blindness due to vitamin A deficiency is almost non-existent.