National campaign to supplement vitamin A for children

The Department of Maternal and Child Health, Ministry of Health , has just issued an official dispatch to deploy the first phase of the Vitamin A supplementation campaign combined with deworming for children, to be carried out nationwide in June.

Vitamin A plays an important role in the health and overall development of children. Photo: Nutritionintl .

In this campaign, in 22 disadvantaged mountainous provinces, each child aged 6-59 months was given a dose of vitamin A, and children aged 24-59 months were periodically dewormed. In the remaining 41 provinces and cities, the Ministry of Health organized for children aged 6-35 months to be given a dose of vitamin A. The source of medicine used in the campaign was donated by the Vitamin Angel Organization (USA).

Based on actual conditions, the Ministry of Health requires the development of specific plans and proactive organization of appropriate campaigns, ensuring that all children of the right age are supplemented with vitamin A and dewormed according to instructions.

The Ministry of Health assigned the Institute of Nutrition to preside over and develop a plan for vitamin A distribution and provide professional guidance to implement the vitamin A supplementation campaign. The Central Institute of Malaria, Parasitology and Entomology presided over and developed a plan for deworming drugs and provided professional guidance to implement deworming activities for children during the campaign.

Vitamin A plays an important role in the health and comprehensive development of children. Every year, the Ministry of Health organizes a campaign to supplement high doses of vitamin A for more than 6 million children aged 6-54 months nationwide (there are 2 rounds each year: Round 1 in June and Round 2 in December). In these campaigns, children of this age are supplemented with high doses of vitamin A capsules.

According to health experts, to prevent micronutrient deficiencies, in addition to the short-term solution of taking micronutrient supplements (such as high-dose vitamin A capsules, multivitamin tablets, etc.), the medium-term solution is to use micronutrient-fortified foods, the long-term and fundamental solution is to improve meal quality.

Therefore, units need to strengthen communication work, encourage people to use a variety of foods, combine many types of food for daily meals; prioritize choosing and using foods rich in micronutrients and practice exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life according to the recommendations of WHO and the Ministry of Health.

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