Nearly 475,000 N’ganj children to get Vitamin A Capsules
Staff Correspondent :
Saturday (March 15), marks the National Vitamin A Plus Campaign 2025. Like the rest of the country, Narayanganj will also conduct the campaign, aiming to administer Vitamin A capsules to 474,488 children aged 6-59 months.
This information was announced at a press conference held on Thursday at the Narayanganj Civil Office and Narayanganj City Corporation.
Within the Narayanganj City Corporation area, the target is to provide Vitamin A capsules to 133,982 children 24,167 aged 6-11 months and 109,815 aged 12-59 months. The campaign will be carried out at 340 centers in the city, with two health and family planning workers, teachers, and volunteers stationed at each center.
Beyond the city corporation, in the five upazilas of Narayanganj district, 340,506 children aged 6-59 months are set to receive Vitamin A supplements. Among them, 42,294 children aged 6-11 months will receive blue Vitamin A capsules, while 298,212 children aged 12-59 months will receive red capsules.
To ensure a smooth campaign, 1,056 vaccination centers-both permanent and temporary-will be set up across these upazilas. Each center will have a team of three, including health and family planning workers, teachers, and volunteers.
Dr. Nafisa Islam, Medical Officer of Narayanganj City Corporation, stated that children who miss the campaign on Saturday will have up to seven working days to receive their Vitamin A dose at EPI vaccination centers. She also emphasized the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a child’s life, followed by the introduction of nutritious homemade food alongside breast milk.
Narayanganj Civil Surgeon Dr. Abul Fazal Md. Mushiur Rahman highlighted that since 2010, administering Vitamin A capsules twice a year has significantly reduced the prevalence of night blindness among children, bringing it down to just 0.04%. He assured that the capsules are safe, with minimal risk of side effects.
He also urged media professionals to support the campaign’s success by spreading awareness.