Over 22.3m children receive vitamin A capsules

Collected Photo

A total of 22,360,509 children have been administered Vitamin A capsules under the nationwide supplementation campaign held on June 28, achieving 98.67% of the revised target, according to the Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN).

Confirming the information on Thursday, IPHN Director Dr Mohammad Yunus Ali said the campaign initially targeted 23,514,972 children. However, based on updated data submitted by divisional civil surgeons, the target was revised to 22,661,564 children.

Against the revised target, Vitamin A capsules were administered to 22,360,509 children, bringing the achievement rate to 98.67%, he said.

Dr Yunus Ali said a four-day post-campaign “Child-to-Child Searching” programme was conducted in hard-to-reach areas covering 714 wards under 290 unions in 58 upazilas across 12 districts. The programme concluded on Thursday.

He expressed optimism that once the data from the follow-up campaign are incorporated, the overall coverage will reach around 99%.

According to IPHN, Khulna Division achieved 100% coverage, while Rajshahi recorded 99.26%, Chattogram 99.16%, Rangpur 98.97% , Barishal 98.61%, Mymensingh 98.40%, Dhaka 97.87% and Sylhet 97.20% of their respective targets.