Nationwide Vitamin A campaign begins, aims to reduce child mortality
The campaign is being conducted under the National Vitamin A Program.
KATHMANDU: A nationwide campaign to administer Vitamin A capsules and deworming tablets to children has begun across Nepal on Thursday and Friday, under the slogan “Let’s give Vitamin A, let’s reduce child mortality.”
The campaign is being conducted under the National Vitamin A Program.
According to Sangeeta Mishra, Chief of the Urban Health Center in Lalitpur Metropolitan City Ward No. 15, children aged six months to under five years are being given Vitamin A capsules, along with deworming medicine.
Mishra urged all parents to ensure their children receive the supplements. “Vitamin A is not easily available at other times. So please do not miss the designated days,” she said.
Nepal conducts this campaign twice a year, generally on Kartik 2–3 and Baisakh 6–7.
However, due to the Tihar festival, this year’s Kartik schedule was shifted to Kartik 20 and 21.
The government aims to reach 2.8 million children under the age of five with Vitamin A capsules and provide deworming tablets to nearly 3 million children nationwide.
For this, around 52,000 Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) and 15,000 health workers have been mobilized, according to the Ministry of Health and Population.
The National Vitamin A Programme has been credited with significantly reducing child mortality in Nepal over the past decades.
