Civil Surgeon Office has chalked out an elaborate program to make the
October 5 National Vitamin ‘A’ plus campaign a total success to reduce
the risk of child mortality.
The CS office revealed this at a press conference held at is
conference hall here Wednesday and urged all the officials and others
concerned especially the parents and other near and dear ones to make
the campaign a complete success.
Target has been set to feed a blue-coloured vitamin A capsule to
23,676 kids aged between six and 11 months while 2,34,775 babies aged
between 12 and 59 months would be fed a red-coloured vitamin A capsule
everywhere in nine upazilas of the district.
With Civil Surgeon Dr Azizul Islam in the chair, Assistant Director
(Administration) Dr Anisur Rahman, Assistant Director (Disease
Control) Dr Ferdousi Azmal and Medical Officer Dr Shahinuzzaman
addressed the press conference.
The speakers said vitamin A supplement is essential for the normal
functioning of the visual system, maintenance of cell function for
growth, red blood cell production, immunity and reproduction.
Besides, they said various problems including eye sight problems and
night blindness could be prevented and cured through successful
implementation of the campaign.
CS Dr Azizul Islam said that the children should be given vitamin A
supplement at the age of six months but unfortunately, children aged
between 6 and 11 months in the country do not get the supplement
despite various interventions.
This means that huge infants aged between six and eight months remain
unprotected from the effects of vitamin A deficiency, he added.
“We have to ensure vitamin A supplementation to the kids to ensure
increasing normal body growth and immunity besides reducing the rate
of child mortality,” Dr Islam added.
He added that media support is very important to make the campaign a
total success. -UNB, Rajshahi
