Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, April 16:

Preparations for the feeding of vitamin A and deworming capsules to children under the National Vitamin A programme are complete. The Ministry of Health will conduct the programme throughout the nation scheduled for April 19 and 20. The children aged six months to five years will be given Vitamin A capsules and the children aged one — five years will be given de-worming capsules. According to a press release issued here today by the Nepali Technical Assistance Group (NTAG), the ministry has already sent necessary supplements to all the primary health care centres, health posts, sub-health posts and community female health workers in all the 75 districts. It is estimated that Vitamin A supplements have contributed to check the death of around 30,000 children each year.

According to NTAG, the programme has targeted 3.6 million children of ages six months to five years and around 48,000 community female volunteer health workers will be mobilised for the task.

Dr Shyam Raj Upreti, chief at the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) section told The Himalayan Times that the Department of Health Services has already sent vaccines and other supplements for the third phase of EPI, except for Kalikot district. “All the supplements have already been sent by helicopters to the remote areas and they will be sent to Kalikot soon,” said Dr Upreti. “We are hopeful that there will be no problem to conduct the programme.” The Ministry of Health has aimed at reducing child morality rate, night blindness and the entire eye diseases caused due to lack of Vitamin A through the National Vitamin A Programme, which is being organised since 1993. The release said the children have been fed de-worming capsules to keep them safe from worms.