National vitamin A+ campaign on May 29

National vitamin A plus campaign-2010 will be observed on May 29 with feeding over two crore under 5 children vitamin A capsules and de-worming tablets with a view to preventing childhood blindness, reducing child mortality and strengthening immunity. Children aged 1-5 years will be fed a high powered vitamin A capsule (200,000 IU), while children aged 2-5 will be given a de-worming Albendazole tablet 400mg along with the vitamin A capsule during the countrywide campaign.
Over 400,000 health workers and volunteers will work together to make this initiative a success. Besides all permanent health centers, the mobile centres at bus stands, railway stations, launch terminals and airports will remain open from 9am to 5pm to ensure that all children receive the twin dose. The proposed slogan for the national vitamin A plus campaign 2010 is ‘supplement vitamin A capsule for better survival of your child.”
Since last week of February, the Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN) has been conducting some orientation programmes with the Upazila Health and Family Planning Officers (UH and FPO) in several phases at its conference room, aiming at making the upcoming campaign a success.
Talking to UNB, Director of the Institute of Public Health and Nutrition (IPHN) Prof Dr Fatima Parveen Chowdhury said that mothers should start breastfeeding their babies within one our of the birth and exclusively breastfeed the child up to six months of age to keep their babies free from malnutrition.
“Colostrums are the live vaccines for the children,” the IPHN director said children after six months of age should be given home made foods along with breastfeeding for proper growth of their bodies. Describing breastfeeding as the best source of babies’ nutrition, she said if the malnutrition problems could be solved for the children, the budget for the health sector would be reduced to 50 percent. “Only dissemination of knowledge can solve some 50 percent of the nutrition problems.” Dr Ashraf, junior clinician of IPHN, presented a keynote paper at the workshop titled ‘Orientation Programm for UH&FPO’. Secretary General of Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) Prof Dr Sharf Uddin Ahmed attended the function as chief guest. IPHN director Prof Fatima Parveen Chowdhury presided. About function of Vitamin A, physicians at the workshop mentioned that vitamin A supplementation should be fed the children as it’s very essential for immune function and indispensable for normal vision.

Courtesy of UNB via The BD Today