DHAKA, 8 June 2009 (IRIN): Twenty million children across Bangladesh aged 1-5 received Vitamin A capsules on 6 June as part of a national campaign to prevent childhood blindness and deaths.
The National Vitamin A Plus campaign conducted by Bangladesh’s Institute of Public Health and Nutrition (IPHN) also saw 19 million children aged 2-5 (of the 20 million above) receiving de-worming tablets, health officials report.
Foods high in Vitamin A include liver, sweet potatoes, carrots, mangoes, spinach, dried apricots, milk, and egg yolks. The campaign is being conducted because large numbers of children are poorly nourished and lack adequate food rich in Vitamin A.
– Vitamin A is essential in the development of healthy and intelligent children, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said at the campaign’s launch, adding: – Without healthy children, a nation cannot prosper.
The capsules were administered by thousands of trained government health workers and volunteers at 120.000 health facilities, schools and other sites. Some 20.000 mobile centers were in operation across the country.
– Over 400.000 health workers and volunteers are working to make this initiative a success,” IPHN director Fatima Parveen Chowdhury told IRIN.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) as the leading cause of preventable childhood blindness and a major public health concern.
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