By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Oct 19: The government is administering vitamin A and deworming tablets to 2.7 million children between the age of six months to five years across the country on Saturday and Sunday.
Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) has conducted the nationwide campaign for vitamin A supplementation with the collaboration of State and local governments.
The campaign has been undertaken so that no eligible children are left out for immunisation.
According to Chief of Nutrition Section of Child Health Division under the MoHP, Kedar Parajuli said that the Vitamin A capsules and deworming tablet- Albendazole tablet – is being administered to the children of all the 753 local levels.
The vitamin A tablets is being administered at the nearest immunisation centre or the health posts.
According to Parajuli more than 50,000 female community health volunteers as well as other volunteers working at all the local levels are being mobilised to facilitate the immunization programme.
The volunteers also examine the nutritional status of the children with the help of Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) strip.
The children are also being administered with the Balvita, a micronutrient supplements.
The MoHP launches the program of administering Vitamin A capsule and De-worming tables as a campaign on Baishakh 6 and 7 as well as Kartik 2 and 3 every year.
Meanwhile in Dailekh, around 30,000 children of eleven local levels are being administered with Vitamin A and 26,000 children with deworming tablets in the district.
According to Immunisation Officer Thir Prasad Regmi of District Health Office Dailekh, 810 female community health volunteers and more than 300 health volunteers are mobilised in the district.
Chief of District Health Office Dailekh Dr. Niranjan Panta said that around 13 per cent children of the district are suffering from malnutrition.
The health volunteers are also providing information to the guardians about the nutritional foods meant for children, said Dr Panta.