KATHMANDU, Nov 3: Over 3.5 million children between six months and five years of age across the country have been administered vitamin ‘A’ supplementation as part of a two-day campaign that began from Monday.
Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) will also administer de-worming tablet to children in the nation-wide drive, according to the Child Health Division (CHD) of the Department of Health Services (DoHS).
National Vitamin 'A' campaign begins from today
Officials at the CHD informed that the children who missed the medication on Monday will be administered the supplementation and de-worming capsules by FCHVs on Tuesday.
“This is our regular program and we hope to achieve over 90 percent coverage despite the ongoing protests in several districts of Tarai region,” said Giri Raj Subedi, chief of the nutrition section of the CHD. He informed that over 52,000 FCHVs and other health workers have been mobilized for the campaign.
According to Subedi, FCHVs will reach every household to ensure that no child is deprived of the supplementation. Vitamin ‘A’ supplementation is a regular program of the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) for which it invests about Rs 150 million every year. The program is launched twice a year throughout the country.
“Vitamin A supplementation program is very important as it boosts immunity power in the children and reduces child mortality,” added Subedi.
The program is almost entirely run by FCHVs who achieved 99 percent coverage in 2013.
The CHD has asked all parents to cooperate with FCHVs administering vitamin ‘A’ and de-worming tablet to children.
