The government will resume the nationwide Vitamin A plus campaign after a suspension of more than a year, a gap experts say may have worsened the measles outbreak.
Around 23.5 million children aged between six months and under five years are expected to be covered under the campaign, said officials.The tentative date for the campaign is June 27, Mohammed Eunus Ali, director of the Institute of Public Health Nutrition, which will lead the programme, told The Daily Star yesterday.
ATM Saiful Islam, additional secretary (Public Health Wing) at the health ministry, said preparations were underway for the campaign, with June 27 as the target date.
Eunus said the Vitamin A capsules for children aged six to 11 months have already arrived, while those for children aged one year to under five years are expected to reach the country on June 19.
The government procured the capsules through Unicef after three attempts to procure them through open tender failed, he said, adding that the next campaign will be held in four to six months.
The campaign aims to improve children’s immunity and nutritional status, and lapses are likely to increase malnutrition and weaken immunity, making measles more severe, said health experts.
